The Roles We Play: Mocha Revision
by mochafraptor
Summary: Everyone on the team had their role, and they adhered to them faithfully. But people aren't so black-and-white, as they'll soon learn.
1. Multifaceted

The Roles We Play: Mocha Revision

original story by AngelSlayer135

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Beast Boy's breath came out in short, controlled puffs as his form rose and fell rhythmically in the dark. His legs were spread slightly apart, his right arm supporting his upper body as he did push-ups in the center of his room, his left arm was folded behind his back. Glancing at the clock above his door, his eyes easily picked out the time, and he saw that it was a little past one in the morning. Without pausing, he switched arms, and continued his activity. There was a reason why Beast Boy was, of all things, exercising in the middle of the night, and it had nothing to do with the usual reasons why he'd be up this late, and everything to do with the trio of lovers in the room down the hall. He could hear the cacophony they were making. All the grunting, moaning, and wet smacking sounds of colliding bodies that usually accompanied such activities, despite the supposedly soundproof walls. Worse, he could _smell_ everything too, and he would continue smelling everything for days afterward as well. With such keen senses, he could probably even describe what was happening, as it was happening. Which was just awful, really.

Nights like this always woke Beast Boy. He could pretty much tell whenever anybody, anywhere in the Tower started being intimate, like a goddamn radar. It was pretty impossible to ignore because that type of thing activated the oh-so-aggravating part of his animal instincts, the part that told him to go out, find a likely female, and get down to _business_. That drive, that pressing need, was very hard to resist because it was instinctual, intrinsically part of being alive. And because he knew it would be fun to give in to. But he resisted, for a variety of reasons. He did still have a surplus of energy to deal with though, so he exercised. Probably to an excessive degree, what with all the training that he did normally, but it was the lesser of his two options.

Finally, he heard the three of them quiet down, and paused to glance at the clock again. One twenty-five AM. The one saving grace was that they didn't often take too long, but that was little solace to the changeling. He'd still be up for most of the night. With a sigh of resignation he pushed himself off the floor, and made his way to the common room to watch TV, and hopefully to achieve some semblance of sleep.

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He woke to the sound of Robin opening and closing cabinets as he set up the coffee maker. He was being goddamn loud for someone who's main stich was supposed to be stealth. Beast Boy groaned, and rolled off the couch, landing on the floor with a _thud_.

"Ow." He mumbled into the ground.

"Oh, hey Beast Boy." Robin greeted cheerily. "Up late watching TV again?"

He replied by raising his hand in a thumbs-up.

"Got enough rest though, right? Today's a training day."

Beast Boy groaned into the carpet. _Don't remind me_.

"Don't be like that, training is fun!"

 _Maybe for you, bird boy, but for me, it really leaves something to the be desired._

"If you're not down in the training room with everyone in the next fifteen minutes, I'm going to have to assign you extra training." Robin said sternly.

"I'm up, I'm up!" Beast Boy yelled from the floor, and started getting to his feet. He peered over the couch in time to see his fearless leader walking down the hall for the doors closed.

 _He's rather spry this morning. Of course, if I did what he's doing every other night, I'd probably have a little pep in my step too._

The shape shifter yawned, and began trudging back to his room to change, already dreading the day before him.

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Walking into the training room a few minutes later, Beast Boy saw that everyone else had arrived before him. Two years had passed since they formed the team, and everyone had grown. Except for Beast Boy. Both the girls had fuller figures, and had grown a few inches. Robin had wider shoulders, and a thicker chest, as well as having also grown taller. Even Cyborg had changed his parts. Beast Boy had _frustratingly_ stayed almost exactly the same. It didn't help that he was also the youngest of the team, making him an easy target for all sorts of teasing.

For a moment, he wondered why they were all lined up next to the sparring mat, and then he remembered what day was. Today was Wednesday, a day designated by their fearless leader to be sparring day. Their normal routine would set them to different areas of the room to work at specific exercises, tailored to their powers. On _Sparring Day,_ they would still do all that, but before they could, they would fight a "friendly match" first. In theory, it would allow their team to understand each other's strengths and weaknesses, and be able to compensate accordingly. In reality, it was just a way for Robin to show that he was _top dog_.

Robin noticed him walking in, and stepped away from Raven and Starfire. "Hurry up Beast Boy, let's get started!" He called, walking over to the mat, and motioning to Beast Boy.

 _Yup, just like clockwork. In the world's shittiest clock._

As he made his way over to stand in front of Robin, the girls took to the air and began their own fight, while Cyborg monitored everyone.

"Eyes on me, Beast Boy. You remember the rules, right?" Robin said as he began to circle.

"Yup! No powers, no weapons, no gadgets!" Beast Boy replied with artificial enthusiasm, not that anyone noticed. He began mirroring Robin's stance and motions, albeit clumsily.

"That's right, we need to be able to defend ourselves in case we run out of other options."

"Yeah yeah, I get it. Let's go already!"

One of the reasons these fights never lasted long between them was because Robin was forcing Beast Boy to learn his style. Thus he always had the upper hand because the changeling was still learning. Or something like that. Within minutes the Boy Wonder had the shape shifter in a neck hold, and was forcing him to tap out. He had to get some sort of high for making him do that, because he always tried to end the match that way.

"That was good, Beast Boy. Not quite good enough, but I've been doing this for a while." Robin said, trying to hide the smug smile growing on his face.

 _Well if that's not just about the most patronizing thing I've ever heard…_

"Thanks." He replied smoothly.

Robin was already walking over to watch the girls finish their match. Cyborg read out the results of his observations as they gathered around, and then they split to do their own exercises. From the obstacle course on the far side of the room, Beast Boy watched as both of the female Titans could barely concentrate on their own activities, too busy watching their secret lover flexes his muscles. He snorted disdainfully, but quietly, and started his work out.

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"Okay Titans, our priority is keeping the civilians safe, so I want Starfire and Raven to clear the area, and secure the perimeter."

The five of them stood on top of the mall, watching through the skylight, the noon sun directly overhead in the clear sky. Below, two dozen or so humanoid figures made from electrical appliances wreaked havoc in the shops.

"Smart." Raven commented, her eyes thoroughly glued on the masked hero.

Beast Boy glanced at her. _More like obvious._

"Then, while I find the source of this, I want you and Beast Boy engaging those creatures down there, and buying time." Robin said, pointing at Cyborg. "The girls can come and assist me after making sure everyone is safe."

Next to him, Cyborg slammed one fist into his open hand. "Aw yeah! Now that's what I call a battle plan!"

"Hell yeah!" Beast Boy yelled, and pumped his fist. "Let's get in there!"

 _Seriously, we've wasted enough time out here. People could be dying._

They opened one of the windows and jumped in. Their entrance was immediately noticed, but he and Cyborg were able to take the brunt of the initial attack, allowing the others to go about their tasks. The air was heavy with the sounds of destruction as they laid about themselves with almost wild abandon. Beast Boy was able to see Raven and Starfire zipping about, either aiding civilians or containing the enemy. As he smashed another enemy, he saw Robin dash into a store, presumably to engage the main villain.

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 _This isn't working, we're going to be overrun. We need to retreat_

It was obvious now that their efforts in fighting the army of drones out here were pointless. If they didn't destroy a piece of electronic completely, it would just reanimate and attach itself to a new creature. And they were increasing in number. Beast Boy did a quick scan of the surrounding area, but could find neither Raven, Starfire or Robin. They would have to do something quick, or he and Cyborg would be overwhelmed. Gritting his teeth, he transformed into a mammoth and charged forward, swinging his massive trunk into the gathered enemy forces.

 _Hopefully Cy will take advantage of the distraction, and get to a better position. We can't hold out here on the ground floor._

Like he'd expected, the makeshift robots abandoned the smaller target for the larger one, and he was quickly surrounded. The woolly coat that covered him provided ample handholds, and soon they were crawling up his sides, and on his back. The weight soon brought him to his knees, and then he started receiving shock after shock of electrical power until his concentration relented. Beast Boy reverted back to his natural form, the robots that had been attached to him falling to the ground all around. He struggled to his feet after a moment, the enemies around him beginning to move as well. Then they fell apart, the source of their short-lived lives defeated. He assumed.

Beast Boy sat down on the floor, and sighed with exaggerated relief. He went to Cyborg who was making his way over, shuffling through the debris and scattered parts.

"You okay man?" His friend asked him.

Beast Boy made the A-OK sign with his hand. "I'm better than okay, I'm ' _ex-static_ '!"

The cybernetic man gave him a sickened look. "Please don't." He groaned.

"Oh come on, that was gold!" Beast Boy grinned.

Cyborg simply shook his head.

"Everyone okay?" Robin shouted from across the mall. He stood with the two lady Titans fussing over him, Raven healing a cut on his brow while Starfire hung from the opposite arm.

 _I can't believe Cy doesn't see what's right in front of him. It's so painfully obvious they both adore him._

Popping up to his feet, Beast Boy cupped one hand around his mouth. "I'm better than okay! I'm–"

A metal hand clamped over his mouth before he could finish.

"We're fine!" Cyborg shouted back. "Everyone's fine!"

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The culprit behind everything at the mall turned out to be Overload, who escaped from containment and had been trying to build up his power. Robin, with the help of Raven and Starfire, managed to subdue the artificial being, thus neutralizing the army. Soon afterwards the police and media arrived. Of course Robin received most of the credit for taking down the villain. His being the leader automatically put him in the public eye, and he often spoke for everyone. It was upsetting, however, that Robin didn't pass some of the credit onto his team. The Titans left the scene, and returned home shortly thereafter.

"Everyone did really well today, but of course there's always room for improvement." Robin said, addressing the team around the table. "Starfire, you were excellent today in placing your shots, the best I've seen yet. Raven, you were very efficient in removing the citizens from danger, keep it up. Cyborg, you need to figure out a way to handle big crowds like that. Beast Boy, you can't go charging into crowds like that, it's incredibly reckless, and accomplishes nothing."

 _I beg to differ, Boy Wonder. If I hadn't done what I did, Cyborg and I would've been defeated, and then they would've come to reinforce Overload, effectively tipping the scales of your fight in his favor. But you didn't notice that._

"Got it." Beast Boy said with a nod.

"Another thing I noticed is the fact that the civilians are often in the line of fire. As such, I want to work on accuracy, so we can be confident in our ability to deal with threats without harming the citizens. It's back to the training room."

With a healthy amount of complaining, the Titans made their way back to where they started the morning. When they got there, they went to an area that was set up like a firing range. As everyone else began going through the drill, Robin took Beast Boy, and led him to another area.

"You don't have any ranged capabilities, so I want you to train your hand-to-hand skills."

Beast Boy saw where they were going, and hesitated. "Oh come on! I already did that this morning, and everyone knows I'm not really suited for martial arts." He complained. "Can't I just, I don't know, go a round or two with the training bots?"

Robin shook his head. "Sorry, but no. None of us can afford to be completely reliant on our powers or gadgets, and I don't want anyone singling you out."

 _Right. Because poor, small Beast Boy is obviously the weak link._

They came to a punching bag, and the younger hero reluctantly took a position across from it. He eyed it warily before turning back to his leader. "Seriously?" He whined.

"Think of it this way, green bean!" Cyborg jeered from where the others stood. "When you punch the bag, it's less likely to punch back!"

Was that a smirk he saw on Robin's face? Yes, yes it was, though the masked hero was trying, and failing, to hide it.

"Look, if you go at it for the next twenty minutes you can pick the movie tonight. Deal?" Robin bargained.

The changeling just looked at the bag with obvious trepidation.

"It's okay, Beast Boy! Just try your hardest!" Starfire yelled encouragingly, and he had to hold back from shooting her a withering glare.

"Get on with it already." Raven droned, though she was clearly irritated. "I have things to do, so I'd rather not be held up in here. _Again_."

With everyone practically hell-bent on getting him to do this, Beast Boy sighed and took up the stance that Robin had practically forced him to learn. Robin had already left him to it, smug satisfaction written on his face at the team jumping in to help him assert his authority. Typical. Beast Boy attacked with the techniques he'd learned. A straight left jab. A right hook. A roundhouse kick. Simple stuff. _Easy_ stuff.

 _I can't be the only one who sees Robin's constant one upmanship. It's like he needs to be the center of attention at all times. And it's totally intentional that I'm the one he singles out, seeing as how Cyborg is easily three times his size, and he's fucking the other two. Not that the others seem to care._

As the thoughts in his head fueled his frustration, Beast Boy stopped using what Robin had been trying to teach him, and reverted to older techniques. Techniques he had learned _before_. He attacked at a furious speed, delivering lightning-quick blows that would be lethal on a living target. Adrenaline thrummed in his veins as he let loose, no longer entirely aware of his surroundings.

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Beast Boy was something of an enigma to the empath. Raven could sense robust enthusiasm and energy from Cyborg, determination and confidence from Robin, and flowery joy and compassion from Starfire. All she could ever detect from the resident changeling was… radio silence. The absence of something she _knew_ should be there, but simply wasn't. This wasn't a new occurrence though. After they had formed their team, she had become aware of it because of how easy it was for him to catch her off guard. It was like she had a permanent blind spot to his presence, and that was extremely disconcerting. But try as she might she couldn't figure out why this was, and eventually gave up trying to find out. After all, Beast Boy wasn't something to be concerned about. She can safely ignore him.

And she was, so when a dark emotion suddenly settled over the training room like a storm cloud, Raven was nearly floored by its intensity, causing her to nearly drop the object she was holding with her powers. She turned around slowly to survey the room, thinking that maybe they were in danger, and her eyes eventually came to rest on the green shape shifter in one corner. He was next to the practice bag like Robin had instructed him, but he wasn't using the style that they all had been taught. Attacks flew out of him at inhumane speeds, with more ferocity than she had seen from anyone. A quick glance around the room informed Raven that no one else had noticed his strange behavior, and she stopped what she was doing to slowly make her way over to the changeling.

When she reached him, that dark emotion pervading the air growing only heavier, she went to grab his shoulder. He spun around before she touched him, grabbing her wrist and jerking her forward, off-balance. His other hand was raised not in a fist, but with fingers splayed, and bending forward, clawlike. Raven realized that she had never actually seen him without his gloves on before, but even so, that gloved hand looked _very_ dangerous. Even more concerning was the look in his eyes. Cold, distant, and detached. Like he wasn't even really seeing her.

Beast Boy must have realized what he was doing because he dropped her wrist like it had burned him. He stepped back, the humanity returning to his eyes as he glanced about at the others.

"Is everything al–" Raven began asking.

"Fine! Everything's excellent, actually. No problemo." He said, his eyes flicking towards the damaged equipment he'd been using. "Man, Cyborg should really upgrade his gear if even _I_ can do this much though, ha ha. Anyway, it's been twenty minutes, so I'm going to hit the showers. See ya!"

And then he made a swift exit, all but running through the doorway. Blinking in mild confusion, Raven walked over to Cyborg. "Cyborg, has Beast Boy seemed weird to you lately?"

The half metal man stopped working on his arm to look up at her. "Beast Boy being weird? Sounds pretty normal to me."

"Hmmm." Raven hummed in reply, looking after the green shape shifter.

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Beast Boy spent the remainder of the day in his room, venturing out only once to make himself food before quickly retreating back to his sanctuary. Thankfully there were no more incidents that day, and he was allowed to spend it in peace. Peace, he was beginning to realize, he very much needed. What with his nocturnal exercise routine, battling his animal instincts, and his frustration with the team, he was getting worn out. The stress was only added on when he could only properly sleep when Robin had to go out on patrol. Luckily, tonight was one of those nights, and Beast Boy wanted to take advantage of that as much as possible.

There was a knock at his door, and he got up from his desk chair to go answer.

"Yeah?" He asked when he opened his door to reveal Cyborg.

"Let's go man! It's movie night!" The older man said excitedly.

"Uh, actually Cy, I was planning on hitting the hay early today." The changeling said. "But you guys go ahead and watch something, I'll just wait until next time to pick."

Cyborg studied him closely for second. "Okay, who are you, and what have you done with BB?" He asked suspiciously.

Beast Boy laughed. "It's me, I swear. I'm just really tired today. I'll be fine. You should let Starfire pick, I'm sure she has lots of suggestions for a movie tonight. Particularly of the romance variety."

"Well, anything is better than your particular brand of comedy."

"Sure, you say that now, but twenty minutes into one of her movies, and suddenly slapstick doesn't seem so bad."

"Keep dreaming man."

He laughed again. "Have fun." Beast Boy said as he closed his door.

He heard his friend trod away towards the common room with his metal feet, and then making sure he was alone, Beast Boy made his way to his bunk bed. He flopped down on the bottom bed, and promptly fell asleep. It felt like only seconds had passed before he was waking to the insistent knocking of someone at his door.

"Who is it?" He called from his bed.

"Friend Beast Boy, it is I, Starfire! Robin wishes for everyone to gather in the room of OPS for an announcement!" The alien Princess's cheery voice carried through the metal door and grated on the changeling's sensitive ears.

"Uh, okay, I'll be there in a few minutes." He told her.

He waited until he heard her footsteps fall away and then, with effort, Beast Boy dragged himself out of his bed. His body ached all over, sore from the day before, and his mind felt sluggish and clogged. Funny, how sleep could do that to you, especially after you haven't properly rested in a while. He was of course the last person to arrive, and he took his place next to Raven as they gathered around Robin.

"Okay guys, a little while ago I received a call from the police chief and the director of the local branch of FBI. They've been chasing a serial killer, and they believe he is in the area. Since they'll be operating in our territory, they have asked for our help." Robin said. "I want everyone to be ready within an hour so we can go meet them and be briefed on the operation they plan on conducting."

Beast Boy blinked, seeing the rest of the day unfold in front of him. He withheld the grimace that wanted to spread across his face, and instead turned from the room, walking out with everyone else to get ready. If the situation turned out to be as predictable as he expected, then he definitely needed more sleep.

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So I've been struggling with my stories a little, trying to write and come up with ideas, but also just having the discipline to sit down and put pen to paper. Fingers to keyboard. Whatever. I'm hoping by taking on yet another story I'll be able to write more often, since I'll be following somebody else's story and not trying to come up with my own plot. Though I'm going to try not to straight up plagiarize. Case in point, in the original first chapter of this story there is a scene near the end that I like a lot, but I've ended up cutting out of my version. Upon looking at it I realized that doesn't seem to serve a purpose other than making Beast Boy look like a badass. I really do enjoy that scene though, so I'm going to see if I can add to it in later on. Another thing that I want to address though is that there will probably most definitely be some Robin bashing. I normally don't hate Robin, but after reading halfway through Force's Carved in Stone, well… Follow, favorite, and leave me a review! Also be sure to check out my other stories.


	2. Canceled

Mailbag time

AngelSlayer135 – thanks! Your approval means a lot.

myasshurts – almost no chance unfortunately. There's always Chaotic Neutral though.

Mind  – whoa, already? That was just the first chapter bro. Though I have to agree with you, those stories are the most satisfying.

TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne – does it count as a harem if it's just two? And I didn't mean to _imply_ anything, he's totally banging both of them. You raise an interesting point about about his frustration.

Viper5Delta – well, I mean, obviously not, right? ADD is a curse, I swear.

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Beast Boy sat with the others around a conference room table in a typical government building, waiting for the meeting to start. After Robin had informed them that the FBI was requesting their assistance, they had left rather promptly. Doing so meant that they had to forgo training, but it also meant that they had missed breakfast. As a result, Beast Boy was both tired, and hungry. This made him irritated, and impatient, which were only exacerbated by the slowness at which things were going. He was about to make a wry comment to Raven, who sat across the table from him, when a man walked in.

The man look somewhere in his fifties, with graying black hair. He wore a coal gray suit, and a cobalt blue tie, which matched his eyes. A pair of black rimmed glasses set on a hooked nose presided over a mouth drawn in a thin line. Beast Boy surmised that this man was unhappy that he was seeking assistance from people he regarded as children, even though the Titans were on the cusp of adulthood.

 _Well tough shit, Agent Smith, I don't want to be here either. Let's get this show on the road already._

The man placed a manila folder he'd been carrying on the table surface, standing at the head of the table, and meeting each of their eyes.

"Hello. I'm Agent Smith." He greeted them.

Beast Boy's eyes widened, and he almost didn't stop the laugh from escaping his lips.

 _Holy shit, his name is actually Agent Smith. I was just joking!_

A screen rolled down from the ceiling behind the older man, and he slid the folder towards Robin, who sat closest.

"I'm in charge of the task force assigned with finding and arresting the serial killer known as the Sadist." Smith said, using a small remote to flip through pictures of locations, evidence, and victims. "His typical MO is to capture lone victims, and slowly tortured them before a live Internet audience. He's only claimed ten victims that we know of, but we believe he's come to Jump searching for his next."

Cyborg raised his hand before interjecting. "I guess it's safe to assume you've tried tracing the site he runs his stream off of?"

Smith nodded. "Several times with no success. The skill in which he's hidden himself leads us to believe that he is highly intelligent. The fact that his victims seem to have been taken not at their homes, but in public areas without being seen suggests that he is a meticulous planner as well."

"So where is it that we come in?" Raven droned in monotone.

"Seeing as his victims generally range from mid to late teens, we were hoping one of you might volunteer to act as bait, and lure him out into the open."

"What makes you think that anything you put out would be sure to tempt this guy?" Robin asked as he scanned the case file he'd been handed.

"We've done our research, we know the type of victim he likes, and where he likes to hunt. We're fairly certain the operation we planned will work."

Robin looked up from the sheet of paper he was reading. "And what exactly is your plan?"

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The Titans stood in the common room of Titan's Tower, arguing about who should be the bait. Robin insisted that he was the only option, being the only full human, and most adept at disguising himself. Both the girls refused vehemently to allow him to place himself in danger, claiming that his lack of superpowers put him at the most risk. Similarly, Robin refused to allow either of them to take the role. Cyborg was trying to mediate, having realized that he was simply too huge to be a viable victim. Beast Boy had remained silent for the entirety of the conversation thus far, choosing simply to watch them go back and forth. It wasn't until Starfire shot him a mournful look that he sighed resignedly, and stepped forward.

"What if I go?" Beast Boy cut in.

"In case you forgot, Beast Boy, you're _green_." Raven pointed out none too kindly.

"Right, but," He replied, holding up a finger. "What if Cyborg rigs up one of those holo-doodads for me?"

"That–" Robin began before stopping short. "That's actually a pretty good idea… Cyborg?"

The cybernetic man shrugged. "Yeah, sure. Should be pretty easy to hook him up."

"Hear that Rae?" Beast Boy said, waggling his eyebrows. "It was a _good idea_."

She glared at him. " _Raven_. Don't let it go to your head."

He was already walking away, chest puffed out, and Cyborg following behind him. When they got out into the hall, Cyborg fell in step beside him.

"You okay to do this? Not that I doubt you, but still…" He asked.

"Pfft. Please, this guy's got _no_ chance. Even if he were to somehow best me and my sick moves, I've still got you, the others, and a veritable army of suits as backup. This will be a cakewalk." The changeling reassured him as they walked into the lab.

"Okay…" Cyborg said. "Here, stand there so I can scan you into the system. Then we can start working on what you'll look like."

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"The FBI will be setting up their command post right here." Robin said, pointing at a spot on the holographic map over the table. "That's where Cyborg will be, assisting them, and watching over everything with the CCTV in the area. Raven, I want you here on a roof near the bus stop, monitoring the area with your empathy. If there's anybody suspicious I want you to lock on to them, and keep track. Starfire and I will be here, at the coffee shop down and across the street. In the event anything happens, we will be the first to respond. Finally, Beast Boy will be here at the bus stop, playing the part of bait. There will also be agents and officers waiting in the directions that we don't have covered to create roadblocks. If this guy takes the bait, he won't be getting away."

Raven frowned. "This is largely unnecessary. Even if he has the element of surprise, Beast Boy is capable of taking on someone like this. Especially considering that our culprit won't be expecting a superhero."

"Considering that he'll have to rely initially on his hand-to-hand combat skills, I don't want to take any chances."

There was the hiss of the door opening, and Cyborg's booming voice interrupted any more conversation.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Introducing Beast Boy 2.0!" He announced loudly as he entered the room, gesturing with one hand the to the door behind him.

What came next was completely unexpected. A man with short, dark red-brown hair strolled in, and stood before them. Raising his arms to either side, he spun around so that they could get a better look. He had a tan complexion, with a smattering of freckles across his nose. Blue gray jeans clad his legs, and he wore black skateboard shoes. A light gray shirt was worn underneath a blue plaid jacket with fur lining, and he wore black gloves on his hands. It was completely different from, and yet completely the same as the Beast Boy they knew. They could tell it was their friend from his dark green eyes. They held that same vibrancy that only one person had.

"Well?" Beast Boy asked. "What do you think?"

Raven was stunned. Seeing him with normal skin and hair was really weird. It was just too surreal to hear her friend and teammate's voice come from what effectively looked like a different person. And because… He looked _good_.

"Oh friend, you are the very handsome!" Starfire gushed, which caused Robin to shoot her a look she didn't notice.

"How did you come up with that?" The Boy Wonder asked curiously.

"I don't know, we just played around with it until I liked it." He replied with a shrug.

Beast Boy stumbled when Cyborg punched him playfully in the arm. "Well it sure is different! I don't think anybody's going to recognize you!"

"If they do, I'm blaming your shoddy craftsmanship." Beast Boy said with a grin.

The taller man's face screwed up in outrage. "You little punk! I'll have you know –"

"Save it for later Cy, we've got to go." Robin said, turning and heading for the garage.

The changeling grinned even more. "You heard him, tin can." He said with a little shooing gesture.

Cyborg scowled, but turned and followed Robin. As the others turned to follow suit, Raven tried to hide the fact that she really couldn't keep her eyes off of her now disguised teammate.

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Probably the worst thing about being 'the bait' in any plan was the fact that you were just _waiting_ for something bad to happen to you. That was your entire purpose, and part in the strategy. If you were lucky, you got out no less healthy than you were going in. Historically speaking, Beast Boy had _terrible_ luck. He contemplated voicing his complaints, but decided against it. He was supposed to be alone at this bus stop, so talking to himself would only look weird, and probably blow his cover. Twiddling his thumbs, he leaned back on the bench and rested against the glass shelter.

It was, he supposed, not that dangerous. There were, after all, four separate heroes whose attentions were trained solely on his position, not to mention the fact that the entire FBI task force dedicated to catching the psycho they were after was also there. Plus he was wired in with an ear piece so he could be updated to any sudden changes. In that sense, it wasn't a bad plan at all.

So why did he feel like something was wrong? His instincts were telling him that he was missing something, but he couldn't figure out what.

Well, he'd already been there over an hour, and he could wait maybe another hour or so, but any more than that would be pretty suspicious to anyone who was paying attention. However, just as he decided to call it in, there was a deafening explosion in the distance. Beast Boy looked up over the rooftops to see plumes of black smoke being under lit by orange and yellow flames.

 _Uh oh…_

 _._

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The sudden explosion jolted everything, and caused all of their equipment to glitch momentarily. Cyborg was instantly on his feet, and moving to the nearest window. Sticking his head out, he saw smoke billowing from a building a few blocks over.

"What the hell?" He voiced aloud to no one in particular. His left arm dinged, and he brought it up to see Robin on the screen. "Rob, you seeing this?"

"I am. Starfire, Raven, and I are heading over to investigate. You stay there with the surveillance team until further notice."

Cyborg nodded, and then cut the connection, walking back over to his station. On the screen, his green buddy hadn't moved from his position at the bus stop. He was about to call him to inform him of the situation when his arm dinged again.

"It's Cinderblock!" Robin said urgently over the channel. "He's attacked a gas station, and the flames are getting out of control! We need your assistance!"

"What about Beast Boy?" Cyborg asked, glancing back at the screen.

"He's got dozens of agents watching his back, he'll be fine! We need your help, _now_!" Came the sharp reply.

"Dammit…" With a reluctant look, the cybernetic man left the surveillance post, and made his way over to the fight in progress.

.

.

"It is most fortunate that we were able to cease the fire from spreading, is it not?" Starfire said, looking over her menu at the other Titans.

"Indeed." Robin agreed. "That was some quick thinking with the water tower, Raven."

"I only did what was logical." The empath replied. "And I wouldn't have been able to do it without Cyborg."

Cyborg grinned. "Yeah, it was pretty great. Hey, did you see the awesome move I pulled off B–" The large man dropped his menu to the table when he looked to his left. "Crap, BB! We forgot all about him!"

"I was wondering why it was so quiet." Raven remarked with a smirk.

"I'm sure he's fine, Cy." Robin assured. "He has a bunch of people watching out for him, and I really doubt anything will happen on the first night we try the operation. I wouldn't be surprised if they already called him back in."

"And I am certain he will be most grateful to receive the veggie pizza upon our return!" Starfire added.

Cyborg made a face. "If you say so. I don't get how anyone could ruin a perfectly good pizza with vegetables."

.

.

The command post was in a frenzy when the Titans returned, with people speaking rapidly into phones, or typing furiously on computers. A horrible feeling, like an ice cold stone, settled in all of their stomachs. They quickly found the agent in charge and approached him.

"What the hell is going on?" Robin demanded.

The agent turned around, looking mortified. "The, uh, the bait–"

"Bait? That _bait_ has a name you son of a–" Cyborg began, stepping forward before Robin's outstretched arm stopped him.

"Stop. Let him finish." Robin said, though his eyes under the mask were narrowed dangerously.

The agent swallowed visibly before continuing. "He's gone. We went to check on him about twenty-five minutes ago after he didn't respond to a radio check-in, but when we got there, there was no one in sight.

"Why didn't you call us in?"

"We tried to, but some of our equipment isn't working. We think we've been hacked, because our cameras still show your friend at the bus stop."

"Do you know anything else?" Raven asked, noticeably straining to keep control.

"Nothing." The agent admitted. "The last time we checked in he seemed fine, but that was a little under an hour ago."

Robin whirled around, marching towards the door. "Starfire, I want you in the air. Raven, see if you can pick up his emotions with your empathy–"

"It won't work." She intoned stiffly.

Robin turned back to look at her curiously. "What?"

"I can't sense Beast Boy's emotions, I don't know why or how. I wasn't too concerned about it before, and it didn't seem like my place to ask why."

The Boy Wonder brought a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Fine. Go with Starfire. Cyborg, what the situation with the tracking device?"

"Gone. Either destroyed, or it's been blocked." The older Titan said as he tapped the screen on his arm. "Rob, with everything that's going on I'm starting to think…"

"Yeah… Whoever this guy is, he must have known we were coming. Dammit!" Robin slammed his fist into the wall directly to his right. "Okay. Cy, I'm going to go through all surveillance footage in the area, looking for anything suspicious or out of place. I want you looking at the systems that were hacked to see if you can identify the hacker."

"Got it. I'm going to go back to the Tower then, the computer's stronger."

"Cyborg, one more thing… Find the site that this guy uses. If he has Beast Boy, I don't think we have much time."

The cybernetic man only nodded grimly.

.

.

Raven flew through the sky at an almost frantic speed, extending all her senses in every direction. She had to find something, anything, to let her know that he was all right. Inside her mind a multitude of voices were clamoring to be heard.

 _No no no he's gone oh God he's dead no no no–_

 _It was the logical choice. He was fine, he should've been safe. The fire was the more immediate danger, we had to go…_

 _ **Whoever this lowlife wretch is, he will soon learn the agony that befalls those who touch what is mine!**_

 _No no no oh God oh God please no don't leave–_

 _Never thought I'd be in agreement with Red over here, but I can't wait to get my hands on this sonofabitch!_

 _Oh God please don't leave Beast Boy don't leave me no no no–_

 _Silence! All of you!_ Raven screamed into her mind. _I need to find Beast Boy, but I can't do that if you're all yelling in my head!_

She was greeted with blissful quiet as everything settled in her mind, and, muttering her mantra, she continued her search.

.

.

The scattered Titans received a call from Cyborg a few hours later, and quickly rushed back to the Tower. Upon entering, they saw Cyborg standing nearly petrified in front of a computer screen. Starfire floated up next to him, ready to ask him what was the matter, until she saw what he was looking at.

"Hello, and good evening, ladies and gentlemen." An electronically disguised voice said over the speakers. A man in full surgical garb, and wearing a surgical mask stepped into view on the screen. He stood in a room with floor to ceiling white tiles on the walls, and a polished concrete floor. The room was lit brightly in sickly florescent light that made everything look unnatural and ill. "I hope you're all excited for today's show, because I have a special treat for you."

The man reached forward and turned the camera to the right, revealing Beast Boy bound to a chair, and gagged.

"Yes, it's your very own Beast Boy, of the Teen Titans and Jump City. Greet our audience, Beast Boy."

The changeling silently glared at his captor.

"Don't be like that." The man chided. "Tonight you're an entertainer, you must smile for your fans. No? Well, we'll sort all that out in a moment. For now, we'll wait for the seats to be filled. I'm expecting a packed theater. Full house."

Robin's head snapped towards Cyborg, who had moved to another computer. "Cyborg, the trace?"

"Nothing, goddamnit! It's like he set up a goddamn maze!" Came his response.

"We need to shut down the site." Raven said, straining to maintain composure. "He thrives on his audience. If we take that away it might drive him to a more vulnerable position."

The cybernetic man's fingers blazed across his keyboard. "He's got too many firewalls, and they're all strong as hell! We'd never breakthrough in time!"

"In all honesty, I was expecting Robin to be my guest tonight, and not this poor excuse for a hero." The modified voice pierced the conversation, causing them all to freeze. The camera inched closer to the changeling as he spoke. "Imagine my surprise when I encounter, not the Boy Wonder, but the youngest of the Titans instead. Still, every mistake is an opportunity in disguise, and I find myself rather curious. Does he bleed the same? Does he break the same? I'm excited to find out."

"Oh, X'hal, no…" Starfire whispered, tears beginning to well up in her eyes.

"Don't worry Star, we'll get him out of there before he comes to any harm." Robin assured her, though his voice wavered.

"You know what my favorite part about going to see a show is? The previews! And what kind of host would I be if I didn't provide such _necessary_ accoutrement for my audience?" The man turned the camera again, and brought it over to the other side of the room. He placed it on a table with an array of equipment and tools. "Of course, we have the basics. Scalpels, pliers, needles, even a surgical hammer and chisel."

As he spoke, he ran his fingers over his tools gently, affectionately. The Titans could see they were glimpsing the mind of a severely twisted man.

"Then we have the blowtorch, a crowd favorite." He said as he demonstrated the tool. "The bone saw I'm interested to see. I can cut through a human femur in forty-five seconds flat, but I wonder if his will be more of a challenge. The chest spreader, because really, it's what's on the _inside_ that counts. And last, but not least," He said as he hefted something offscreen. "A chainsaw, because I'm not afraid to get _messy_."

He revved the chainsaw, went over to a nearby hanging pig, and began cutting through it. Back in Titans Tower, Starfire was nearly hysteric. Robin had ceased comforting her, too caught up in his own mind, consumed by his failure to keep the team safe. Cyborg was dry retching into a trashcan, having already emptied his stomach twice before. Raven stood stiffly, tears streaming from her eyes and silently watching the screen as a maelstrom of exploding furniture, appliances, and household items surrounded all four teens.

Then, just as the bottom half of the pig fell free and landed on the floor, they heard something.

"Hey!"

.

.

 _Earlier…_

Beast Boy slowly came to, his eyes dry and itchy as he blinked them. The first thing he realized was that he was, in fact, tied to a chair. His arms were bound behind him with what felt like reinforced handcuffs. There was gag in his mouth, a balled up piece of cloth that tasted slightly of vinegar, and it felt like there was something around his neck as well. Glancing around, he saw that he was in some sort of… morgue? Some creepy ass place anyway. And not hot creepy like Raven, but seriously creepy. The whole room stank of death and foul chemicals that stung his nostrils, which reminded him hospitals. Which he hated.

 _Wait, back up. The last thing that happened was… The explosion? There was a stinging in my neck a little while after that, so I'm guessing knock out dart. That would explain why my head feels so foggy._

A large metal door to his right ground open, revealing a man dressed entirely in surgical garments. The man saw Beast Boy was awake, and, closing the door behind himself, strolled over.

"I'm so glad you're awake. You are the centerpiece for the performance tonight, so it's only appropriate that you see every bit of what's happening." He said in a tinny electrical voice. "I feel I must warn you that any attempt to use your powers is futile. The collar I've so graciously gifted you with makes sure of that."

 _Well that explains the thing on my throat._

The man busied himself with setting up a camera and computer, before launching himself into a whole production about who he'd captured, and what tools he'd be using. It was fairly melodramatic. As he did this, Beast Boy closed his eyes and began recalling what Mento had taught him to escape capture.

 _Remain calm, observe the situation, form a plan, execute it when opportunity presents itself. I'm tied to this chair, but this chair doesn't seem bolted down. My hands are cuffed behind my back, and I'm tied to the chair around my torso and ankles. What does that leave me with…?_

The man lifted up a chainsaw, and stepped towards the hanging corpse of a pig. Beast Boy knew that this was the moment he had to choose to do something. Only, he only had the one plan, and it wasn't a good one. Without hesitating, he rocked the chair to one side, tipping it over.

 _This is going to hurt…_

His vision exploded with stars as hot pain flared through his shoulder. He looked and was relieved to see that the man hadn't noticed him because of the noise of the chainsaw.

 _Okay, bad news, good news. Bad news is, that shoulder is definitely dislocated, probably broken. Good news is, because of that I can slip out of these ropes. I'm also wide-awake now._

He struggled for a moment to get his arms over his head, chomping down on the cloth gag as the pain spiked once more in his shoulder. Loosening the ropes was a little tough, especially with one arm injured, but he was eventually able to slip out. After that, getting his legs untied was simple enough. Lastly, he pulled the gag from his mouth, spat once on the ground, and stood to face his captor.

"Hey!" He growled.

.

.

At that voice, both the man and the camera turned around to see Beast Boy standing there, freed from the chair, but still handcuffed.

"Holy shit he got out!" Cyborg exclaimed. "Run, BB, _run!_ "

The other Titans in the room said nothing, just watch the screen in silent dread.

The two men stood regarding one another in the barren room. Beast Boy was still handcuffed, and one of the shoulders was sagging unnaturally.

"Well?" The changeling asked the man. "Make your move."

"If you insist."

The man snatched something from the table beside him, pointed at Beast Boy, and pressed a button. The shape shifter seized up immediately, dropping to his knees and arching his back as electricity coursed through his body.

"Poor, foolish Beast Boy." The serial killer said in mock sympathy as he approached his victim. "Always making jokes, always making mistakes. You should've attacked me when you had the chance, now you wasted your opportunity."

Beast Boy collapsed to the ground as the psycho released to the button. "Now you tell me." He managed to gasp out.

The masked man circled around the prone hero. "This raises a good point however. Perhaps I'm being a little overeager, hunting heroes before I'm ready. I should go back to my normal prey, hone my craft. What do you think?"

"I think you're a _twisted fuck_!" The changeling's leg shot out and connected with the back of the man's. The man cried out as he fell, dropping the remote to the floor. Beast Boy kicked the device away, and stood shakily. "And you deserve what's coming next."

The man looked up from his position on the ground, and saw something in the young Titan's expression that struck a chord of fear deep within himself. His eyes widened, and he began scrambling backwards on all fours, away from the dark eyes that glared at him. As Beast Boy stalked forward, he paused by the computer on the table next to him.

"Due to an overwhelming amount of bad reviews, this show has been _canceled_." He said, glancing back into the camera.

Then he smashed the computer with the reinforced handcuffs, and the stream winked out.

.

.

Look, I know Gar is supposed to be blonde and blue-eyed, but I like the version from Young Justice better. Plus I'm super tired of blonde and blue-eyed superheroes, it's almost a cliché I think. Leave me a review, and remember to follow and favorite!


	3. 92 hours

It's, like, a mail bag or whatever.

Guest– Well, here's chapter 3 then.

Myasshurts – That's an… interesting idea. If I can think of a way to incorporate it, I just might use it, but as of right now I have no plans like that.

AngelSlayer135 – I mean, I guess it's fine, but I just feel like I see it too much. Thanks!

Mr. nobod – Raven has always been very detached from her emotions. I wouldn't be surprised at all if she didn't know what she actually wanted.

zonetan – Here you go.

htownoso – Wow, that's some seriously high praise! It's always really pleasant to receive comments like this. I just hope I can live up to them.

Fiery Pancake – Will do! Black hair and green eyes is a good combination. No but seriously, he kind of fucked himself going after heroes lol.

93 – _hell_ yeah!

TheForceIsStrongwithThisOne – I don't know maybe. And like you have any room to talk, what the hell was all that business in Carved in Stone? I still feel gross for reading that and I didn't even finish it.

iluvfriedchicken – I'm really surprised at how many people agree with me on this.

.

.

Three days, and eighteen hours had passed since the stream had cut out, and the Titans had collectively slept all of twelve hours amongst themselves. Robin had marathoned the initial thirty hours, running himself ragged until Starfire had forced him to bed. The masked hero was up again three hours later, combing through every bit of evidence in his office. The Princess herself was a wreck, alternately wracked by guilt for abandoning her teammate and friend, grief for his suffering, and fury at his captor. Even still, she tried to help out wherever she could. Cyborg had plugged himself into the Tower, forcing himself to stay awake with the extra energy as he combed through every camera feed in Jump City. Raven's anxiety, and subsequent inability to cast greater magics had forced her to leave the Tower, and search the city and the nearby areas physically. Three days, eighteen hours had passed like this, and there was still no sign of Beast Boy.

.

.

"There's a mole in your task force, and I want to know what you're doing about it!" Robin barked. He and Starfire stood in the office of agent Smith as rain pelted the window outside in a heavy downpour.

"I advise you to lower your volume with me, boy." Agent Smith narrowed his eyes at the masked hero. "Now, what's this about a mole?"

"It's the only logical conclusion you can draw if you consider the facts." Robin said slowly, biting off each word as he tried to reel in his temper.

"The facts?" The agent said it like he had a hard time taking the word seriously.

"The suspect knew where and when the operation would be taking place. He knew where your men would be stationed, and how to hack into their equipment. And he'd _expected_ us, the Titans, to be involved and prepared accordingly. Word got out, and I want to know how."

Smith pursed his lips sourly. "My team and I have done operations like this before, and know how to conduct ourselves. If there _was_ a leak, it came from outside my unit. From people _less_ experienced. I suggest you take a look at your own–"

At that moment the room filled with a pulsing green light as Starfire lifted off the ground, and drifted towards him ominously, star bolts in hand and eyes glowing. Her face was a mask of cold fury.

" _I_ suggest, agent Smith, that you choose your next words with great caution." She said with barely restrained anger. "At the moment, I have no patience for the insults."

"You're lucky that locating Beast Boy is our priority right now." Robin strode forward, and leaned on the desk so that he was face-to-face with the federal agent. "We're going to find our friend, and when we do, we'll be back to revisit this discussion, and how you handle your so-called _task force_. Prepare accordingly."

With a whirl of his cape, the two heroes exited the office, leaving a thoroughly upset and frightened agent Smith.

.

.

His eye felt gritty and dry every time he blinked it, but that was to be expected since he hadn't slept more than an hour in the past two days. Cyborg rewound the video again, and played it from the top. Again. He was forcing his body to go way beyond what it was capable of, but he had to. His buddy was still out there, possibly still in the clutches of a murderous psychopath, and every second wasted was another that his friend spent in that hell. Beast Boy was the first person to see past his augmentations, and exterior appearance, to truly accept him. A person he considered not only as a friend, but as a brother, so how could he give anything less in his search for him?

As he looked at the screen in front of him intently, another screen to his left ran a complex algorithm that search for any recent mention of the changeling and his location. A screen to his right played its own video with a software that tried to match Beast Boy's face. On another desk behind him, a separate computer was trying to pull together some sort of recognizable face of the killer from captured video of the stream. Cyborg was running on all cylinders, and completely focused on his task, so he didn't notice another person enter the room until a glass clinked against the metal part of his skull. He turned and stared blearily until his brain finally processed that he was seeing Jinx. She was looking at him with open concern in her eyes, and offering him a glass of water.

"Jinx?" He asked, rubbing his eye and taking the drink. "When did you get here?"

"Yesterday." She replied. "I'm the one who's been bringing you food and water, remember?"

He hadn't noticed at all, everything was on autopilot if it didn't pertain to his search. She must've come as soon as she heard. The friendship between the changeling and the hex witch had been a surprising development the night Cyborg had formally introduced her to everyone. As she was the cybernetic teen's new girlfriend, Beast Boy had welcomed her into the Titans with open arms. It was a delightful change from the reluctant acquiescence or open hostility from some of the other Titans. Not to mention the shape shifter had gladly changed patrol times so that the budding couple could spend their evenings together.

"Sorry." Cyborg apologized, turning back to his work. "Thanks."

"No sign of him yet?" She asked tentatively.

"Not yet, but it won't be long now. Something will pop up."

Jinx shook her head bitterly. "Maybe you just need to take your mind off it for a few minutes. Eat something more substantial than water."

"I'm fine, I can keep going."

"Working like this with no end in sight… You need to take a break, Vic."

"No, not while he's out there. Not while my buddy's missing."

The slap that hit him was more noisy than painful, but it got his attention in any case. Jinx had his face with both hands, forcing him to look at her. "Your buddy would be mortified to see you in this state. You look like hell, and the only thing you're doing here is exhausting yourself. _Please_ , just rest for a moment, the computer can run by itself for a little while."

Her words forced him to look around at himself, at the dozens of cords and wires plugged into his arms and back. One of his hands came up to rub at his eye again. She was right.

"Okay." He said finally. "You're right, I need a break. Just… Just for an hour or so…"

"Of course." She replied as she started to help him unplug from everything. Relief and affection were evident on her face as she helped Cyborg to his bed.

"I failed him, Jinx." He told her, the anguish heavy in his voice. "He was relying on me, and I failed."

"Shush. Just get some rest."

.

.

 _He's_ _gone. He's gone I'll never see him again. Oh God he's dead, he's gone and he's dead–_

 _We can't believe that. Beast Boy is perfectly capable of dealing with someone like that, I'm sure he's fine. We'll find a clue eventually, something that will lead us right to him._

 _We'd better. I really want to introduce that sonofabitch to my fist._

 _ **I'll peel the skin from his wretched face, shred every muscle, crush every single one of his bones and burn what's left! This 'Sadist' knows nothing of true pain, but he**_ **will** _ **by the time I'm through!**_

Raven stood up on a low rooftop, pressing two fingers from each hand to her temples and rubbing slowly. With each of her emotions voices grating on the inside of her mind, it was nearly impossible to use any higher magics, or incantations and with Cyborg using all available technology in the Tower the only thing she could think to do was set out and physically search for Beast Boy. Only, even her ability to do that was greatly hindered by the constant inner turmoil.

 _Enough! All this noise is making it even harder to find him! If I'm going to be effective at all I need_ peace _!_

She floated down, and alighted on the sidewalk, staggering as she did so. Bracing herself against the building next to her, Raven shook her head. She was exhausted, tired in every way, but she couldn't stop now. The more time passed, the less likely they'd be able to find Beast Boy. Every passing moment was another step to never seeing him again. At that thought, Raven was able to push herself up again.

Her eyes sweeping around her to get her bearings, they landed on someone familiar in the diner across the street. Someone with dark red hair, sitting by himself. Raven was already across the street and entering the restaurant before she'd thought about it. Sliding into the seat opposite his, she stared at him without saying anything. The man, for his part, simply looked up from the paper he was reading and arched an eyebrow.

"Hi." He greeted.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"I believe I was…" He began, looking down at the plate of half eaten pie, and mug of coffee on the table. "Yes, I'm almost _certain_ I was enjoying a late lunch. What are you doing?"

Raven blinked at the distinct French accent. Why would Beast Boy be doing an accent?

"The others and I have been searching frantically for you! We've been worried sick!" She said.

The man frowned and folded the paper. "Uh, you must be mistaken miss, I don't believe I've ever had the pleasure of making your acquaintance."

"Of course you have! Whatever game you're playing at, Beast Boy, it's _not_ funny." Raven said, growing angrier.

"Beast Boy? My name is Luke, I assure you."

Her mind suddenly clearing, Raven actually looked at the person before her. He had similar dark brownish-red hair, and warm green eyes to what Beast Boy had had in his disguise, but his other features were different. His nose was a little finer, chin a little sharper. Raven shook her head, and moved to stand up. This man was obviously different, more calm and mature than Beast Boy had ever been, plus she could sense his confusion. Something she hadn't been able to do with the changeling.

"Sorry." She apologized. "I've had a rough couple of days. I didn't mean to disturb you."

"No apologies needed, just a simple mistake. I'm willing to lend an ear if you want to talk about it."

Raven paused, considering his offer. _It would be nice, if only to rest for a while…_

Sitting back down uncertainly, she looked back across to Luke. "As long as I'm not troubling you…"

"It's no trouble at all to sit in the presence of a beautiful woman." Luke replied with a smile.

"Thanks." Raven smiled in return, blushing a little, though it was hidden in the shadow of her hood. "My friend has been gone for a couple days, and I've been searching nonstop."

"And I look like this friend?" Luke asked, flagging down a waitress and a menu for Raven.

The empath nodded. "Almost exactly."

"I'm sorry for the false hope then."

"No, it's not your fault. Like I said, I've been searching nonstop. I'm a little tired."

"Tired would not be the word that I'd use." He said, looking at her exhausted state with sympathy.

"Perhaps." Raven said before deciding to change the subject. "Do you live here?" She gestured to the town outside the diner.

"No, I was just passing through and thought I'd stop for a bite." He replied.

"Headed anywhere in particular?"

Luke shrugged. "Not really. I like to wander." He said simply.

"Having freedom like that must be liberating. I can't imagine not having anything to worry about, no responsibilities or ties holding me down. I'm a bit jealous."

"You should try it. You strike me as someone who bottles up way too much for her own good. It's bad for your health."

"I'd like to, but… Letting go isn't something I can do easily or lightly. It can be… Risky."

Leaning on the table between them, Luke supported his chin with one hand and regarded her. "Sometimes the reward is worth the risk, no? A little fear is fine, but you shouldn't let it dictate your life and how you live it. If you don't mind me saying so."

Raven gazed back at him, considering his words. "You're a bit of an old soul, aren't you?"

"I suppose." He said with another shrug. "Life has made me grow up quick."

"And yet, here you are eating pie for lunch." She said, looking pointedly down at his plate.

He grinned. "You obviously haven't had the pie here, otherwise you'd be ordering a piece yourself."

Raven smirked back, picking up the menu from the table to browse its selection. They sat and spoke for another hour or so as Raven ate, before Luke paid the bill and they both left. They walked together for some time, talking about anything that came to mind. Strangely, Raven didn't feel apprehensive or awkward speaking to him. She didn't realize how late it was until they arrived outside of a hotel, and Luke said it was where he was staying.

"You're welcome to stay the night." He offered, pointing up at the building.

Surprisingly, Raven found herself seriously considering his offer. It _had_ been a couple days since she'd had a proper night's sleep, and she couldn't sense any malicious intent from him. She also wanted to spend more time with Luke, maybe get to know him better…

"That's kind of you to offer, but I can't accept. I've already been out too long, and my friends will be worried if I don't come home soon." She refused politely.

Luke nodded in understanding, sticking out his hand to shake. "Well then, it's been a very pleasant evening, Raven. I wish you the best in everything. If I cross paths with your misplaced friend, I'll be sure to tell him you're all worried for him."

Raven could feel the blood drain from her face. She didn't even know if Beast Boy was alive or dead, and yet she had gone and spent valuable time chatting it up with a stranger she had just met. If the situation were reversed, she knew Beast Boy wouldn't have stopped until he'd found her, but she'd gotten sidetracked so easily.

She took Luke's hand and shook it. "Thank you, really. Have a good night." She said quickly before stepping back. Without another word, Raven teleported back to the Tower, mentally berating herself.

.

.

Around noon the next day, the remaining Titans were gathered in the common room. The atmosphere of the room was dour, and heavy with a sense of foreboding. Even though they all had arrived at relatively the same time, it was a while before anyone spoke up.

"Anything?" Robin asked finally.

Cyborg shook his head slowly. "Nothing on my end. No camera anywhere has captured even the fuzziest image, and there's nothing on the web."

"While Jinx and I have been working in tandem with the state police," Starfire said with a sniffle. "Our search has yielded no fruit…"

"My empathy hasn't picked up anything in the surrounding areas, and I haven't been able to try any spells. Likewise, my own search in surrounding areas has, as of yet, turned up nothing." Raven reported.

Robin worked his jaw silently, processing all this. "Based on how long it's been, and what information we have, we have to at least start narrowing down our options."

"What information?" Cyborg asked dejectedly. "We don't _know_ anything."

"There has to be something. There's _always_ something." Robin said determinedly. "A clue we're missing, _something_."

"What if there isn't?" Raven asked gravely.

Starfire rested her hand on the empath's shoulder. "You can't give up hope, Raven. We have to believe that we will find him."

"Star's right." Jinx said, finally speaking up. "This is _Beast Boy_ we're talking about. He always comes through when he needs to."

At that, the group settled into another solemn silence. Despite the uplifting words, none of them could shake the melancholy that had set in in the past ninety-two hours.

All of a sudden, the Tower was alive with flashing lights, and piercing alarms. However, this was not the usual alarm that signaled trouble in the city. Everything went dead silent as Cyborg activated his arm screen, and cut the alarm short.

"What is it?" Robin asked, one hand reaching towards his belt.

"Security breach." The cybernetic man replied, tapping quickly on his built in interface. "I'm only detecting one intruder, but it's hard to tell. All our systems have been greatly simplified to help in the search."

"Where?"

"Ground floor, elevator. Looks like they are coming up."

The masked hero looked at each of them in turn. "There's no time. We'll have to engage whoever it is here." His bo staff extended in his hand as he sprinted for the hall. "Get ready!"

The other Titans were already on his heels. Cyborg knelt dead center in the middle of the hall, his sonic cannon charging to full, while directly to his left and right were the two witches, readying their spells. Closest to the elevator were Robin and Starfire, standing on either side of the door. They waited in tense anticipation as the elevator slowly climbed to their level. There was a soft _ding_ , and the doors slid open silently to reveal a rather dirty and battered Beast Boy. The changeling sat slumped against the wall with his legs splayed out before him. The moment the doors had opened he looked up to see all the Titans in battle-ready stances.

"Whoa." He said, eyebrows shooting up in surprise. "Uh, I surrender?"

That was all anyone could say before he was swept up by Cyborg in a powerful hug.

"Ow ow ow!" The green Titan yelped. "The arm, Cy, the arm!"

Cyborg released him just as quickly, and Raven was by his side in the next instant.

"Where were you?! What the hell happened?!" She asked, nearly frantic.

"Somewhere deep in the forest, and I was kidnapped." He replied, wincing as Cyborg examined his shoulder.

"Oh friend! I'm filled with joy to have you among us once again!" Starfire exclaimed, floating almost all the way up to the ceiling.

Jinx sauntered forward to stand next to Cyborg, and smiled. "No kidding. You had me worried there for a second."

Robin's gloved hand came forward to rest on the changeling's uninjured shoulder. "We all were."

"Your shoulder seems to be dislocated, but other than that it's okay." The oldest Titan announced.

Raven was already on it by the time he finished his sentence, her hands glowing blue with healing magic. "What took you so long to get back? Why didn't you ever trying contact us?"

Beast Boy sighed in relief as the pain in his shoulder eased away. "I had to walk back, and I tried, but I couldn't get through for some reason."

Robin frowned. "Walked? Why not transform into something faster?"

In response, Beast Boy just raised his bound hands and pointed at the device that was encircling his neck. "Besides these handcuffs, this collar does a good job of making it very painful to try. Also my shoulder was pretty messed up."

A metal hand clamped around the reinforced handcuffs, tearing them apart and releasing the changeling. Cyborg did the same with the collar, albeit a bit more gently. Beast Boy rubbed at the raw patches of skin that the device had left. "Thanks." He said.

"Well, we're all glad you're back in one piece, but there's a lot of questions that need to be answered." The Boy Wonder said seriously. "I want to do this while the details are still fresh in your mind. You think you're up for it?"

Beast Boy shrugged. "I'm a little tired, but other than that, sure. I'd maybe like to get all this dirt off me."

"Good. You go ahead and do that, I'm going to go and arrange a meeting with the FBI since this was originally their case."

Raven watched as the changeling walked back to his room, his exhaustion evident. She was mildly concerned, but mostly relieved, now that he was back. Breathing a little easier, she turned and went to her room.

.

.

Agent Smith, and another man in a suit he didn't recognize sat across from Beast Boy in a very barren room. The only things that were inside were the chairs they were sitting in, the table in between them, and the very large, very obvious two-way mirror to his left. Glancing up he saw that the florescent lights were in desperate need of a lightbulb change, as parts of them were dark or dim.

"So, uh, how does this work?" He asked after a moment of uncomfortable silence passed.

Agent Smith cleared his throat. "We're just going to start from the beginning. Just tell us what you remember happening as best you can."

Beast Boy scratched his head. "Oh. Okay. Well as you know, I was sitting there at the bus stop when that explosion went off a couple blocks away. I debated whether or not to go check it out, but since no one called me I figured the operation was still on, so I stayed put. After a few minutes, I remember something pricking my neck, but then I passed out. Then I woke up bound to a chair in that creeptastic room pretty much as the guy started his whole performance."

"How did you escape from the chair?" Smith inquired.

"While I was struggling to free myself I accidentally tipped over the chair, and fell on my side. From that position, I was more or less able to squirm my way out." The shape shifter replied. "I actually ended up dislocating my arm."

"And you were still handcuffed, yes?" Smith said. "So, in your weakened state why did you not try to run?"

Beast Boy gave the man an incredulous look. "What, and just _leave_? Wouldn't be much of a hero if I did that. And I was pretty angry about being kidnapped."

"I can imagine." The other unnamed agent said.

"Sorry, who are you?" The changeling turned and asked the man.

"Agent Johnson. I'm on the task force with agent Smith." He introduced himself with a smile.

"And the good cop to his bad cop?" Beast Boy asked, looking at both of them.

A look shot between the two of them before Johnson answered. "Sometimes. But right now we're just trying to get the facts straight."

On the other side of the glass, Robin and Cyborg also exchanged a look. The youngest Titan made a good point, this was starting to look an awful lot like an interrogation.

"Gotcha." Beast Boy nodded. "Where was I?"

"Getting out of the chair."

"Right. Well, after I got my arms in front of me it was pretty easy to untie myself, and confront the psycho. Unfortunately for me, he had the remote for the shock collar right next to him." The green teenager said, rubbing his neck. "But I guess he got cocky, cause he got right up next to me and started talking about who he was gonna kill next or something. I managed to knock him down and kick the remote away as I got up. I smashed his computer as he was running away and then–"

"What was your reason for doing that?" Smith asked.

Beast Boy shrugged. "Why not? Like I said, I was pretty pissed off at the guy."

The agents regarded him silently for a moment before indicating to the hero to continue.

"Anyway, after breaking his stuff I chased after him, and we fought for a bit. But like I said, my hands were still cuffed together, and one of my arms was useless, so we were pretty evenly matched. Eventually he was able to get the remote again. He shocked me a second time and made his escape while I was on the ground."

"And then?"

Scratching the back of his head, Beast Boy gave an embarrassed laugh. "Well I had actually passed out, so by the time I woke up he was already long gone. I managed to find my way outside, turns out I was in the basement of some cabin, and found myself deep in the forest. I tried tracking the guy, but all my senses were fried, and I was pretty disoriented. I think the drug he used on me was still in my system. Eventually I gave up, and wandered until I found a road which led me to a small town somewhere."

"Did you try to contact anyone?"

The changeling nodded. "I tried to, but my calls weren't going through for some reason."

Cyborg cursed himself for an idiot. Beast Boy couldn't have gotten through because he had been using everything nonessential to aid in his search, and all incoming calls had been blocked.

"And your communicator?" Smith asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Someone told me to leave it behind because it wouldn't be necessary and it could potentially ruin the operation. One of your guys, I think."

The observation room was silent as the agents received angry glares from the Titans.

"I'm surprised they haven't already caught the guy." Raven said, sarcasm heavy in her tone. "They've demonstrated such skill and competence."

Back in the interrogation room, Smith continued his line of questions. "And the tracking device you were fitted with?"

Beast Boy shrugged again. "I don't know. I didn't have it when I woke up. The guy probably took and broke it."

"Do you remember where the cabin was?" Johnson asked.

"Not really. Everything was all out of whack because of the drug." Beast Boy answered with a shake of his head.

Agent Smith ground his teeth, clearly frustrated. "Is there anything useful you can tell us? Anything at all?"

"Other than it was in the forest, I guess not. Rob is more the detective in our group than anyone else though. He might be able to help."

The agent glared at him. "You know that withholding information is a crime? I could have you arrested if you are no–"

The door swung open as the Titans barged in, cutting off the agent.

"We're done here." Robin announced stiffly. "Let's go, Beast Boy."

"Okey-doke." The changeling made to rise from his seat.

Agent Smith stood as well, and turned to face Robin. "We're not done yet!"

"Maybe not, but I don't care." Robin returned, glaring at the man. "We came in here at your request to help, but if all you're going to do is interrogate our friend then we're not staying."

The other Titans had already left the room and were walking down the hall when Robin turned and followed them out.

"It's been fun, guys, really. Good luck catching what's-his-face!" Beast Boy said, waving back at the red-faced agents.

.

.

Dinner at the Tower was a happy occasion, now that the resident jokester was back. The atmosphere was ten times lighter, the rooms ten times brighter. Things were getting back to normal, much to everyone's relief. Beast Boy looked up from his plate of food to see the bedroom eyes being made across the table at everyone but himself. Raven, Robin, and Starfire were ready to restart their nightly activities, judging from the ambient pheromones in the air. Even Cyborg and Jinx were excited to be seeing each other again, though unfortunately for the big guy it was his turn for patrol. Looking back down at his plate, Beast Boy knew that he wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight, at least not in the Tower.

While everyone was cleaning up, he approached the cybernetic Titan casually.

"Hey man, you want to switch patrol shifts tonight?" He asked.

Cyborg gave him a strange look. "Are you kidding? After everything you've been through, I would have thought you could sleep for a week."

"Dude. I haven't been able to shape shift in literal _days_. I'm actually starting to get itchy in my own skin, and I _need_ to stretch my wings." He said. Then he nudged his friend, and pointed towards the pink-haired woman in the kitchen. "Speaking of itches that need to be scratched, I think there's a certain girlfriend of yours that'll be needing your attention tonight."

Beast Boy waggled his eyebrows, and Cyborg blushed.

"I mean, as long you're sure you're up for it…"

"Sure I'm sure." Beast Boy insisted, pushing his friend towards the hex witch. "You kids have fun."

The room emptied quickly after that, leaving the changeling by himself. With no one else around, he let the smile on his face go back to a neutral line. He was glad his friends had people that they could enjoy life with, truly. But his own loneliness was hard to ignore. Sighing, and then shaking his head, he made his way to the roof to begin his patrol. On his way up, a passing thought of the FBI looking for the killer crossed his mind and a grim smirk made its way onto his face. They didn't know it, but that case, and the killer's body, were already dead cold.

.

.

In a dark building somewhere on the outskirts of Jump City, two figures convened in the shadows.

"I want them dead." One said to the other, his voice tight with strained anger.

"I did warn you. I said it wouldn't be easy." The other responded in a smooth baritone.

"I want them dead."

"I feel like you're not listening. Getting rid of the Titans is not a simple thing."

"I want them _dead_."

The second figure sighed. "You shouldn't have sent him after them. I told you."

" _They killed my boy!_ " The first figure yelled. "I. Want. Them. _Dead._ "

The second figure remained silent for a long moment.

"It'll be expensive." He eventually said.

"Money is no object."

"Then I know someone who'd be willing to do it. Effective, ruthless, a little bit messy sometimes."

The first figure smiled viciously. "Messy will do just fine."

.

.

So while I'm working on my other stories, I figure people can read this while they wait. I'm able to crank this out pretty quickly because I'm basing it off a story that's already written, instead of just shooting from the hip like I am with my other stories. Those are all still in progress, and I am still working on all of them, so please be patient. I am working on being quicker at updating, it just requires a lot more structuring than I thought. And I get easily distracted by shiny and colorful things, so there's that also. Anybody watch the Oscars tonight? That epic fail at the end had me laughing so hard.


	4. Pretty much exactly like I imagined

I know this isn't the one you want, but it's all I've got at the moment, okay? I'm sorry, I'm just not very good at structuring my thoughts into a cohesive plot line.

Also,

Seriously guys, only one review? Even if it's criticism, as long as it's constructive I appreciate any feedback!

TheForceIsStrongwithThisOne – I know you didn't buddy. I meant my response as a kind of friendly heckling, sorry if that wasn't clear. Alas, tone is a little hard to convey via text.

.

.

Robin watched Beast Boy carefully as they circled each other on the sparring mat. Ever since the other day when the changeling had explained his escape from the serial killer, a tickling itch had occupied the back of the masked hero's neck. He had no reason to be suspicious, at least in his conscious mind, but something about his teammate's story seemed off. Maybe it was the way he answered every question without hesitation, or how his explanations all stacked together so neatly. It was ridiculous really, Robin doubted Beast Boy was even capable of deception like that, even if he had a reason to lie. But that uncomfortable feeling on the back of his neck only grew in intensity as he considered the green boy in front of him.

Suddenly, that same boy lunged forward, swooping in low to tackle the Titan leader's waist. Robin leapt over the attack easily, landing behind Beast Boy and delivering a kick to the back of his leg. His opponent staggered a bit before recovering and turning swiftly.

"So, Beast Boy," Robin began, deflecting a wild haymaker. "Can you answer a few questions for me?"

"Sure dude." Beast Boy answered, grunting against another kick from Robin.

Robin caught a punch, then twisted and used it to swing the changeling overhead and onto the mat. "I was going to ask if you could go over your escape again. In case you might've left out a few details or remembered something."

"I don't know what else I could tell you." The shapeshifter said, scrambling to his feet. "I pretty much said everything I remembered to the FBI. And I know you recorded everything."

"Humor me."

With a shrug, he began retelling his story. "Well, I woke up in this creepy place that was kind of like a meat locker, bound to a chair. The guy came in and started showing off all his toys, and while that happened I managed to struggle free, though I ended up dislocating my arm. You saw what happened next, I got his attention, he shocked me, I broke his stuff, blah blah blah."

Robin nodded as they continued exchanging blows. "Right. And what happened after the camera went down?"

Beast Boy gave another shrug, grimacing as Robin twisted his arm. "We fought for a bit. I should've been able to beat him easy, but my arm was dislocated, I was still handcuffed, and whatever drug was in my system was seriously messing with my head. He electrocuted me again, and I passed out."

"And what about after you woke up again?"

"Dude was gone. I tried to track him but my senses were all out of whack. I was getting lost in the woods where the hideout was. Eventually I gave up and made my way back here."

"And you have no idea where the hideout could be?"

"Like I said, the drug he gave me was pretty powerful. I spent that whole first day wandering the forest in a daze."

Delivering another powerful kick, Robin sent Beast Boy stumbling out of the ring, winning the match. Given everything he knew about the situation, and Beast Boy, the story made sense. It was frustrating that they didn't know where to start their search, but again, knowing Beast Boy, it wasn't surprising that he had failed to get the name of the town he had eventually arrived at. Plus, now he was certain the younger hero wasn't lying. There was no way the changeling could fight and lie at the same time, multitasking would forever be his downfall. Robin was given to more than his fair share of paranoid theories, so maybe in this case, that's all it was.

"We're going to have to intensify your training regimen then. If we've learned anything from this incident, it's that you can never rely completely on your powers." Robin announced.

Groaning from the floor where he'd fallen, Beast Boy sat up and wiped the sweat from his brow. From beneath his hand he discreetly glanced at the others in the gym. They were, of course, all watching. He tried not to openly frown as Starfire and Raven appraised their leader appreciatively. Luckily, that was the end of today's training, and he could go. As he grabbed his water bottle, and towel, and prepared to leave, a voice pulled him up short.

"You look super exhausted bro. Why don't you take a cue from our fearless leader? You wouldn't overheat so quickly, and could probably cool down faster if you didn't work out in your full uniform." Cyborg observed.

Beast Boy stopped, looked down at his uniform, then looked back at the shirtless Robin, who was not-so-subtly showing off to the girls as he stretched. Then he turned his gaze towards the half robot with a smile, one eyebrow arched. "I didn't realize you were so keen to see me naked. Unfortunately for you, I don't swing that way, and I really don't need to get on the bad side of your girlfriend in any case."

Said girlfriend was already walking up behind the large Titan, wrapping her arms around his waist, and peering around his side. "Damn right. You better not let me catch you checking out anyone, _rust bucket_. Or you'll see how quickly your luck can change." Jinx said with an evil smirk and a snap of her fingers, pink energy arcing from her hand.

Cyborg's resulting nervous chuckle wasn't entirely for comedic effect.

Seeing an opportunity, Beast Boy took a step once more towards the door, but before he could make good on a swift exit, her pink eyes locked onto him.

"It is a little weird though. Why _are_ you the only one in the full get up?" She asked curiously.

Beast Boy glanced around as everyone's attention focused once again on him.

He chuckled. "What, and let the world get a free peek at this glorious bod?" He asked cockily with a gesture to himself. Inwardly he winced. He'd overdone it. With a scrawny frame like his, it sounded like he was overcompensating.

"A little self-conscious, are we BB?" The boy wonder teased from behind.

"Anyone would be, especially compared to certain other people." Raven said, casting a sidelong glance at Robin.

"Ha, yeah…" Beast Boy said, resisting the urge to shake his head at the smug smirk on Robin's face. "You guys sure got me figured out."

.

.

It was a tough day for Beast Boy, as was seemingly becoming the norm. With the Tower occupied by two separate relationships, – one with two people, the other with three – it was hard to find any place undisturbed by the constant intimacies. His incredibly attuned, and sensitive hearing, as well as his sense of smell, made everything painfully apparent. They were also eager to step out of their close it seemed. It was getting to the point where he could no longer sleep soundly in his bed, and had begun taking on extra patrol shifts, because at least then he'd be able to zone out for a bit. He did it occasionally at first, but now it was like every fourth day he was switching places with someone. He had to if he wanted to keep his head clear.

No one noticed. They didn't notice how many times he was going out in place of someone else, nor did they notice the somewhat haggard look on his face. In fact, it seemed like they all had forgotten he was there. With Jinx staying longer than expected, it seemed everyone was occupied with one thing or another, and Beast Boy was left on the wayside. Not that he wasn't happy for his friends, he was. If anyone deserved the happiness and closeness of a genuine relationship, it was heroes like them.

But it needed balance. As Beast Boy continued to observe and live in the situation of the Tower, he came to realize this. It was at the same time he realized how terribly _unbalanced_ things really were. His team's priorities were all out of whack, they focused more on each other than on being a hero. They were becoming counterproductive. Dysfunctional. He knew this, but couldn't quite see how to fix it.

It was only a matter of time before things started coming to a head.

.

.

"I can't believe you, Beast Boy!" She yelled at him.

The exhausted changeling paused, and turned to look at the empath as she cornered him outside his bedroom door.

"Uh," He responded uncertainly. "About what exactly?"

"Ruining Robin's plan! Putting everyone in danger, and almost getting him killed!"

That confused the green teenager. They had just gotten back from a mission, where Cinderblock had been rampaging through the financial district. Naturally, the Teen Titans had been called to the scene. In the course of engaging the villain, Robin had ordered Beast Boy to distract their opponent, as part of some plan. While he had tried to figure out the best way to do that, Beast Boy had noticed that a civilian, a little girl, was still in the vicinity. Worse, Cinderblock, either by intention or coincidence, was barreling straight towards her. He made what he thought was the obvious decision, and abandoned the plan to rescue the child, which resulted in Robin taking a particularly hard hit. The fight ended shortly thereafter, Cinderblock not being able to withstand the combined anger of both the original female Titans, and Raven quickly healed their injured leader.

"Sorry, I would've followed through with the plan, but there was–"

"Why am I not surprised?" Raven interrupted harshly. "Leave it to Beast Boy to get distracted when he holds a critical part in a strategy!"

Beast Boy scrunched his eyebrows and frowned. "There was a little girl in the combat zone. I couldn't just leave her there–"

"I don't want to hear your lame excuses!" Lightbulbs exploded in a string of popping noises down the hallway as the pale girl cut him off again. "Why are you always such a screwup and a failure? Next time, _think_ a little before you act!"

With that, Raven phased through the ground, leaving a somewhat bewildered and upset Beast Boy in the now dark hallway. _She couldn't be serious, right?_ Unfortunately, he wasn't given much time to process the situation, as the other Titans walked in a few seconds later. They saw the glass of the shattered lightbulbs, and automatically drew the obvious conclusion.

"Dude, really?" Cyborg asked disapprovingly. "Can we not go one night without you annoying the crap out of her?"

Starfire nodded in agreement. "It is enough that we all have had a tiring day, we do not need you making her more of the frustrated."

"When are you going to grow up, Beast Boy?" Robin asked with an exasperated sigh.

The shape shifter just regarded them with a neutral expression, his jaw popping as he worked it side to side. He apologized in an even voice before stepping into his room. They took her side instantly, not even bothering to hear him out. Again, dysfunctional was the word that came to mind. Obviously, something needed to change, because this wasn't working out.

.

.

In the vast expanse of Nevermore, Raven stood surrounded. Collapsed in front of her was the weeping, gray representation of her fears and insecurities, Timid. To the right of that emotion was Knowledge, her logic and intelligence. And on the left was Brave, her courage and confidence. Timid sat legs folded underneath her on the ground, muttering to herself and randomly tracing the dirt beneath her, while Knowledge stood reading a leather-bound tome, and Brave watched some explosions in the distance.

"What's going on in here?" Raven asked the yellow cloaked emotion. "I haven't been able to meditate or calm down for a while now."

Knowledge gestured towards Timid without looking up from her book. "She, and therefore all of us, has some regrets she would like to address."

At that, the gray emotion's sobbing became more intense. "We shouldn't have yelled! We shouldn't have said anything! I'm sorry Beast Boy, I didn't mean any of it!"

Raven frowned, perplexed by this. The fragile copy of herself always regretted everything even slightly offensive Raven did, but Raven felt she was justified this time. Why was Timid having such a strong reaction?

"And what's that over there?" Raven nodded towards the destruction happening in the background.

"Oh, that's just Rage." Brave answered casually. "She's a little upset."

Raven sighed and rubbed her temples. "Of course. Everything Beast Boy does is aggravating, but today was too far even for him."

" _That's_ what you think that's about?" Rude asked from off to the side with a scornful laugh. The orange emotion pointed at the empath and then turned towards Knowledge. "This dumb bitch doesn't even realize–"

"Quiet." Knowledge cut her off with a sharp glare. "It doesn't mean anything if we have to tell her."

"Pfft. Like she'd even listen anyway…"

"Shush."

Raven arched an eyebrow at the exchange. "Tell me what?"

"Nevermind." The yellow emotion closed the book in her hand. "Why did you yell at Beast Boy?"

"Why?" Raven scoffed. "Why _not_? He's always messing up, and endangering everyone. Today was just another example of that. If anyone else had been in his position–"

"They would've ignored the girl and followed through with the plan?" Knowledge interjected.

"Well, no, but they would've handled it so that–"

"They could do both? I didn't realize the others were capable of being in two places at once." Knowledge interrupted again. "Beast Boy did the only thing any of us could have done with the time he had."

Raven ground her teeth in frustration. "That idiot can never do _anything_ right."

"Answer me this then; if their roles were reversed, would Robin have done anything different?" Knowledge inquired. "And would you have reacted the same?"

The following silence was all the yellow cloaked emotion needed. Knowledge adjusted her glasses before concluding.

"As you can see, double standards always fail in the face of logic." She said. "By all accounts, Beast Boy acted admirably today."

"… He's still an infuriating little green moron…" Raven countered weakly.

"Who has been occupying more, and more of your thoughts recently. It's understandable though." Turning towards the source of the new voice, Raven saw Love, the representation of her affections and desires, lounging seductively on a nearby boulder. The purple cloaked emotion stood leisurely, and strolled over towards Raven. "I mean, did you _see_ him in his disguise? Those clothes were tight in _all_ the right places."

"Ugh." Raven grimaced. "Please tell me you're not entertaining those kinds of thoughts about him when I've got Robin."

"Bird boy? He's nice, I suppose, but a bit stiff. And not always in the way I'd like." Love replied with a smirk. "Who knows? It might be nice to try something a little more on the _wild side_."

"No, never!" Raven shot back with a look of complete disgust. "Beast Boy is a gross, immature little creatu–"

In the next moment, Raven felt white-hot pain bloom across her cheek. She turned back to Love, too shocked to do anything but hold her face. The shade of purple in the emotion's cloak had turned deeper and cooler, the expression on her face was one of anger, and utter disappointment.

"Don't you dare speak that way about the one person who actually gives a damn, and constantly tries." The emotion whispered harshly. "If he hadn't always insisted on dragging us out of our shell, always pushed to include us, where do you think we'd be? Certainly not in whatever it is we have with Robin and Starfire. We wouldn't have the guts."

Raven didn't know what to say, it was probably the first time she'd ever been criticized so strictly by one of her emotions, definitely the first time she'd been hit by one. She glanced around to the others until she finally locked eyes with Knowledge.

"There's only one way to rid yourself of this guilt, Raven." She said.

Raven straightened her back and glared at the spectrum of colors around her. "I'm _not_ apologizing. There's no reason to. In fact, he is probably already over it."

.

.

The water was ice cold as it pelted his skin, running down his body in rivulets to swirl down the drain beneath his feet. Beast Boy hardly noticed it as he leaned against the wall and stared at the tiles. He took a breath in, held it for four seconds, and then breathed out. A simple technique learned from his former leader, and adoptive father. He repeated the process until he didn't have to think about it. Mento had drilled it into him, as he had all the others, but he had taken extra care with Beast Boy. There was a hard pit of dark, visceral anger nestled deep within his core that couldn't go unchecked. Life had been a teacher of many cruel lessons to the young changeling, even before he came to his first team. It wasn't just Raven who needed constant meditation to keep the demons in check.

He looked at his hand, and his mind flashed with images. Bulging eyes, a surgical mask, his hand pressing down on someone's throat. He looked back up at the tiled bathroom wall.

The Titans didn't need to know, and he didn't want them to. Despite everything in the past month, he did consider them his friends. What would their faces look like if they learned what he knew, what he had seen? How would they look at him if they saw what he could do, and how easily he could do it? Questions he'd rather not have answered. He wasn't that person anymore anyway. He let all his negative emotions ease away, and swirl down the drain as well.

After all, Beast Boy wasn't angry or dangerous, he was bright, and carefree. The unknown factor and variable, trying his best to help.

.

.

Beast Boy stumbled into the kitchen area the next morning, his mind sluggish from another sleepless night. Cyborg and Jinx had gone out on a patrol/date which meant the changeling was stuck in the Tower with the other three. Unsurprisingly, they did exactly what they always did. It was pretty much routine by now. Pouring himself a bowl of dry cereal, Beast Boy opted to forgo the soymilk and sat down at the table. Moments later, a familiar clunking could be heard as the eldest Titan entered the room.

"Well, look who's up bright and early!" Cyborg said, a little too loudly for the early morning. "Never thought I'd see the day!"

Beast Boy put a smile on his face as he turned to his friend. "And here I thought I'd have a nice, meat free morning. Guess that'd be too good to be true."

"Man, you know that no breakfast is complete without a mountain of bacon!"

Gagging, Beast Boy grabbed his bowl and moved away from the table as the metal man started making his breakfast. Within minutes all the other Titans had wandered in, drawn by the smell and sound of bacon. There were of course other things, pancakes and fruit to name some, so as soon as everyone arrived they all dug in. They stayed and talked for a while, none of them particularly motivated to move after the night they'd had. The scent of sex and sweat still lingered on all of them, including the two who had supposedly gone out on patrol, even though some of them had clearly taken a shower. There was just no hiding it from his sensitive nose.

"So." Robin said with an uncharacteristically mischievous smile. "How was the patrol last night, Cy? Not too rough, I hope?"

"No, not at all. Nothing really happened." He answered, oblivious.

Beast Boy saw what the Titan leader was getting at. He caught Jinx's eye and tapped his shoulder, showing her where a small hickey was peering out from behind the neck line of her loose shirt. The pink haired girl blushed, and tried to discreetly adjust her shirt to cover it. Noticing this, it took a moment for Cyborg to work the pieces together before he blushed as well. The couple had been trying to keep their _activities_ a secret, but that was kind of hard with a detective, an empath, and a human bloodhound as housemates.

"And how was your night?" The cybernetic teen countered, trying to push the attention away from his girlfriend and himself. Robin froze.

The green shape shifter knew that Cyborg didn't know about the three lovers, simply by the fact that the larger teen hadn't throttled the masked one. It wouldn't matter if they'd all consented, Big Brother Cy would still be furious. He wasn't sure about Jinx though. She might not know, but she also could, and just not care enough to mention it.

"Oh, you know." Robin affected nonchalance as he lied. "Just went over some case files."

"Uh huh." Cyborg eyed him suspiciously before turning to the girls. "How about you?"

"Meditated. Read a book." Came Raven's dull reply.

"Um, I, uh." Star was not a good liar, too pure hearted for that, but she'd obviously been told by Robin and Raven to keep their arrangement a secret, so she tried. "I watched the TV! Yes, the show of the many types of fungus was playing!"

Beast Boy could've laughed at the relief evident on the three of their faces as Starfire managed to come up with a plausible story.

"Okay cool. And you, man?" Cyborg turned to Beast Boy.

He shrugged. "I went out and flew over the bay for bit. It's really beautiful around sunset."

"That sounds truly delightful!" Star exclaimed with a light clap of her hands. "Would you allow me to join you the next time you go?"

"Yeah, definitely." Beast Boy nodded. "It'd be cool to have some company."

.

.

 _This might be a good opportunity to make things a little less tense between us and Beast Boy. We should ask to join as well._

 _Yes yes YES! When's the last time we had some plain old fun? I'm sick of hair gel, and impromptu training sessions! Go for it, Rae!_

 _It_ would _be nice to relax without it turning into sex…_

"That does sound pleasant." Raven agreed tentatively. "Perhaps I can accompany you as well?"

"If you want." He replied with a shrug and an indifferent tone, averting his eyes and digging back into his cereal.

.

.

The next week followed a similar pattern. Raven would try to engage the changeling at some level, whether it be their usual banter or going out of her way to have some nice small talk with him. It didn't seem to matter what she did, he kept her at a distance with terse replies and deflections, though his attitude towards her wasn't negative in any way. There wasn't any anger in his responses, and that was the concerning part. Everything she threw at him was met with lukewarm apathy. And that hurt her, way more than she thought it would.

The cheerily irritating green presence that used to always be in the room, or just outside her door was no longer there, and to her eternal surprise, she truly missed it. Now their interactions were like that of two barely familiar coworkers, or tenants that just happened to live in the same building. Cordial, and polite, but devoid of any friendly warmth.

The Titans were supposed to be a tightknit group, with bonds forged over many harrowing adventures. They were supposed to be able to weather everything together. But had Raven, maybe, overstepped her bounds, and severed that connection between her and Beast Boy?

With no idea what to do, and wanting a more outside perspective, Raven tracked down the one non-permanent resident in the Tower. Maybe the pink haired witch could offer some insight on the resident shape shifter's change in behavior.

"Jinx." The empath greeted after confronting the hextress in the hall. "Can I ask you something?"

Jinx looked at her with a slightly confused and curious expression. "I guess. Can't say I'll have an answer, but sure. Shoot."

"Remember the other day, there was that whole fiasco with Cinderblock?"

"Right. I wasn't there for that, but I've seen the reports."

Raven nodded. "Well, after that I had a few choice words with Beast Boy. I was justified, but in hindsight I suppose I could've… phrased everything a bit better."

"Okay…" Jinx looked her up and down skeptically. "So what's the problem?"

"I wouldn't exactly call it a problem, but Beast Boy has been very… strange as of late."

"How so? I haven't noticed anything."

"That's exactly it. With everyone else he seems to be fine, but with me he's become very… professional. Almost cold, actually."

"Really? I find that hard to believe."

"I would too, but he's been doing this for a few days now."

That surprised Jinx. "Wow. He must be really upset."

"Yes. I was hoping that, since you are pretty close to him, you might know why."

Jinx thought for a moment, tapping her chin as she regarded Raven. "It's pretty obvious if you ask me. I'd say you just hurt his feelings."

Raven looked back at her, mind working. "Okay. So now what?"

"You apologize, duh." Jinx replied, looking at her like she was daft.

"No." Raven shook her head. "Maybe I was _a little_ harsh, but I wasn't wrong to criticize him."

On this, Raven was adamant. No matter what her emotions said.

Jinx just shrugged. "Like I said, I wasn't there. But from what I read in the reports, it sounds like he did the best he could."

Raven waved off Jinx's reply. "Nevermind, I'm sure he'll be back to normal soon enough. No doubt he's planning on putting itching powder in my shampoo as payback or some such thing."

"Whatever you say, Raven. I hope you guys make up eventually."

"We will. We always do."

.

.

They were called on a mission the next day, a bank robbery in uptown Jump. A quick look up of the blueprints, and an interview with the officers already at the scene informed the Titans of the layout of the bank, and the ten or so hostages being held by approximately five bank robbers.

"The suspects appear to be only lightly equipped." Robin explained. "Submachine guns and Kevlar vests."

"Plan of action?" Cyborg asked.

"Surprise and Grab. Star and I will burst in through the front entrance while you and Beast Boy sweep in from the rear. At the same time, Raven will be getting the hostages out with her powers."

"All right! Let's do it!" Cyborg smashed a fist into his hand, eager to engage the troublemakers.

In a matter of moments, they were enacting the plan. The criminals tried to put up a fight, but even with Raven occupied by protecting and evacuating the civilians, five normal humans were no match against four veteran heroes. In the celebration after a quick victory, most of the team didn't notice three figures emerge from the side rooms.

It was instantaneous, how everything suddenly turned to chaos. Cyborg was picked up and tossed bodily through a wall by man wearing some sort of powerful exosuit, while at the same time Starfire was knocked from the air by an energy beam. Bo staff in hand, Robin rushed forward to attack the second man, who wore a large cylindrical gauntlet, but was deflected by a shimmering energy shield surrounding the enemy. The masked hero was blown back by his opponent's counterattack, flying back to smash into a wall. As he fell, a large piece of debris dislodged and fell with him, pinning his leg when he hit the ground, and causing him to cry out in pain.

Horrified at seeing Robin tossed like a ragdoll, Raven flew to his aid immediately. With everyone occupied, or incapacitated, no one noticed the third man. He stood quietly in the back, assessing the situation. Calmly, he drew his weapon, a large matte gray revolver, and aimed at the empath. She didn't notice, and nobody else did either. Nor did anybody notice the scrawny green hero that leapt up as the hammer cocked back, grabbed the barrel, and pulled it towards himself as the hammer came back down.

.

.

"Ow ow ow…" Beast Boy wheezed. It took a moment for him to realize that he was lying face up on the bank floor. The man who had shot him approached cautiously, his pistol held in a firm tactical grip.

"You're not gonna shift, and attack?" He asked, sounding surprised.

"With a bullet embedded in my lung?" Beast Boy shook his head slightly, and coughed, tasting blood. "Not likely."

"Huh." The man's stance relaxed by a fraction. He stood there and observed the rest of the scene. From his angle on the ground, Beast Boy could see that Raven and Starfire were huddled around Robin, trying to heal whatever wound he had. He could hear Cyborg fighting in the background somewhere. He didn't see the gauntlet guy anywhere, which he took to mean that Starfire had taken care of him.

"Your team leaves a lot to be desired." The man remarked casually, like they were discussing lab partners. "They're over there fussing about a broken leg, meanwhile you're here bleeding out with a gun aimed at your head."

"Yeah. That's…" The green Titan coughed again, blood on his lips now. "That's pretty typical."

The shooter looked back down at him. "If it's any consolation, my plan got screwed all to hell. I won't be able to kill them all gathered together like that. Too risky."

"Forgive me if I don't stand and jump for joy."

"Not exactly how you thought you'd go out, huh?"

"Actually? This is almost exactly how I imagined it."

"Damn that's depressing." The man barked a soft laugh. "There's something about you I can't quite put my finger on… What was your name again?"

"Beast Boy. Hold on, I think I have a business card here somewhere…" The changeling tried to make a feeble attempt at patting his pockets, but his arms were already cold and numb.

The man laughed again, checking the cylinder of his revolver. "You're pretty funny, kid. Damn shame I have to kill you."

"Just when we were becoming the most unlikely of friends too."

"Any last words?" The man asked with a grin, crouching and leaning in with his gun.

"Yeah." Beast Boy lifted his head to press his brow into the end of the barrel, looking the gun man in the eyes. "You gonna pull the trigger, or are you trying to talk me to death?"

The man laughed one more time.

And then he pulled the trigger.

.

.

0_0


	5. Fallout

In the end, all he could do was remove the bullet fragments. Despite his cutting-edge technology, advanced medical knowledge, and the numerous upgrades to the med bay, there was just nothing else to be done. They were too late, plain and simple. That realization had rocked the world, making him back away from the operation table to the wall, where he slid down to sit. Cyborg remained on the ground there, hands cradling his head as he stared at nothing. The corpse hadn't moved from where it was either, laying on the operation table with a white sheet covering it. The corpse of his friend, _his brother_.

The past few hours had been a cruel slideshow, playing the memory over, and over again in his head, sharpening his guilt and grief like a whetstone would a knife. He kept trying to find the moment he missed. The moment that would've saved his best friend's life. Not that it mattered anymore. They were too late.

.

.

 _The man in the exosuit had been tough, and had incredible strength, but that was it. Cyborg's superior firepower, and arsenal of gadgets had dealt with the criminal once he had escaped the grapple hold he'd been put in. When he had downed his opponent for the final time, the metal man spotted the two Titan girls fretting over Robin near some rubble, and walked over._

" _The infallible leader of the Titans, taken out so early into the fight!" He grinned. "That's gotta be embarrassing."_

 _Robin glared at the older man. "Did you take care of that big guy?"_

" _Would I be talking to you if I hadn't?"_

" _Hmph."_

" _Don't beat yourself up too hard there, Rob." Cyborg said, patting the leader's back. "Not everyone can be as amazing as me."_

" _Actually." The masked hero said, irritated. "I was thinking that this wasn't a normal heist."_

 _Cyborg got serious then. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Their equipment was top-of-the-line."_

 _Robin nodded. "The type of stuff we normally see with super villains."_

" _But why would they do the using of such expensive armaments for this place?" Starfire asked. "It does not seem worth the effort."_

" _That's the weird part. This place doesn't warrant the kind of firepower they were wielding. So, why were they here?" Robin wondered aloud. "Something in the safety deposit boxes?"_

 _The others shrugged._

" _Wait." The empath that had been silent until that moment looked around. "Where's Beast Boy?"_

" _Oh yeah." Cyborg rubbed his chin, looking around as well. "Where is the little green bean?"_

" _He'd better not be lazing around." Raven huffed._

 _Cyborg chuckled with the others as he walked towards the way he had come in with the younger Titan. He didn't see him at first. Rubble covered the ground in various sections, and obstructed his sight. Then he saw Beast Boy's boot poking out from behind an overturned desk. He laughed at first, thinking his friend was simply lying down. Raven would be furious._

 _The pool of blood he saw when he walked around made the laughter die on his tongue._

.

.

Everything after that was a blur of motion and panic. He knew his yell had drawn the others over. He remembered Raven shutting down, hearing Starfire's wailing, Robin shouting orders and helping him move Beast Boy to the T car. Cyborg remembered his own frantic yelling and scrambling. They moved as quickly as possible back to the Tower, rushing to the med bay.

But it was hopeless from the start. Even without the bullet in his head, the wound in Beast Boy's chest was fatal enough. The first shot had torn through his torso, embedding itself in his lung. He would have choked on his own blood moments before bleeding out. The second shot had entered into his skull above his right eyebrow, and shattered after penetrating the bone. For some reason, the changeling's skull was abnormally dense and thick, preventing the bullet from blowing out the back, so at least it had remained mostly intact.

Now all Cyborg could do was hold his head in his hands, and stare at the ground between his feet. Beast Boy had been a rock, a constant element of life and happiness in all their lives. The sudden absence of a powerful force like that was as if the Earth's polarity had suddenly reversed. Nothing made sense, everyone was disoriented, and the feeling of terrible loss encompassed everything like a suffocating smog. It was a sickening feeling, and Cyborg felt like he would never recover. He didn't even want to. He deserved it.

After all, he let his best friend die.

.

.

 _Wham!_

His fist met the punching bag again, and the skin on his knuckles split, leaving a small smear of blood on the canvas. Alfred would've thrown a fit if he had seen Robin practicing without properly wrapping first, but the masked leader of the Titans couldn't bring himself to care very much. In fact, he wanted the pain. It was a welcome distraction.

He should've seen it. Should've been more aware. It was his job to make sure everyone did their part, and that they all came out okay in the end. Instead he'd been too focused on impressing the girls, and ended up with a broken leg because of a rookie mistake. That's what it all boiled down to, really. He'd gotten involved with both Starfire, and Raven, and they'd prioritized his safety and well-being above the others. It was so glaringly obvious now. Robin could see every moment leading up to his ultimate failure, each one _painfully_ clear. He was a damn fool. Now everything was in shambles.

They had all watched the footage captured by the security cameras. They'd all seen how Beast Boy had selflessly forced the man to shoot him instead of Raven, and his final moments before the shooter had finished the job. A man of courage, and a true hero, he had met death with a smile.

His leg impacted the punching bag in a ferocious kick. Robin wished that he had someone to fight, not that it would change a goddamn thing. There was no one to fight, no one to rage against. No one to blame. Just his guilt, and his mistakes.

He hadn't seen the others since they'd watched the security footage, but he knew his team. Cyborg had effectively shut down, Starfire was an inconsolable mess, and Raven was simply… gone. All of it was going to tatters, and he had no idea what to do. He was fucking _useless_.

Robin threw another fist, missing the punching bag as it swung. He tripped, off-balance, and fell to his knees. As he stayed there, hunched over on his knees and forearms, he felt it all crashing down on him. He was _the leader_ , he was supposed to keep them _safe_. But he had failed, and it cost someone's life. It had cost _Beast Boy's_. _Life_.

A sound rose in his throat, halfway between a groan and a growl. It was the sound of frustration, of anger, and of guilt. It was the sound an animal makes when it's in deep pain. Most of all, it was the sound of grief and mourning.

.

.

Starfire had remained locked in her room since their return. It was not the agony of loss, however, that had forced her to seek solitude. It was shame. Shame and guilt. When they watched the security tapes, it became excruciatingly clear where the blame should be placed. Robin had been incapacitated, Raven had been occupied with healing him, and Cyborg had been engaged with the enemy. Starfire had no excuse. She had been needlessly fretting over her lover's injuries, while the person who truly needed her concern and help had been left alone, ignored in his time of need. If she hadn't been so concerned over the interactions between Robin and Raven, she might've seen something!

Not for the first time, she had let her emotions guide her actions, always believing it to be the best policy. But if the price for that was paid by someone else, then even one time was too steep. She'd rather forsake her emotions entirely, and become a cold husk then sacrifice one of her family. Indeed, if she could trade them away at this very moment in exchange for Beast Boy's life, she would do so without hesitation. It's what he would do.

The tears came silently. Her wailing and sobbing had ceased entirely. There just didn't seem to point to any of it. None of it was going to bring him back, and it wasn't making her feel any better. Starfire doubted anything ever would again. There had been something bright about the green changeling, an energy that invigorated everything around him. He could walk into a room, and bring a smile to everyone's faces with just a few words. The redhead sniffled, and pulled her blanket tighter around herself. The Tower felt icy and unwelcoming without his warmth. How could things have gone so wrong?

.

.

Silence filled Nevermore. An empty quiet like Raven had never experienced, and as she wandered from realm to realm, searching for any sign of her counterparts, it only seemed to grow quieter will, filling her with a soul-leeching hollowness. Her various aspects, normally so eager to gain her attention, were nowhere to be seen. Their absence, and the absence of any sound at all was as foreboding a sign as Raven had ever seen. When at last she gave up, and returned to the floating island that acted as a central hub to her mindscape, she did see something. Not someone she expected, though it was unmistakably an emotion of hers. Just not one she had encountered before.

In the center of the island, standing on the dry, cracked dirt, stood her identical twin. This Raven replica was dressed like her in every way. Same shoes, same leotard, same belt. The only difference, as with all the other emotions, was the cloak. Unlike the other emotions however, her cloak wasn't a color. It was black. A deep, unrelenting black that almost seemed to _eat_ the very light itself. Uncertain, and unnerved by her strange appearance, Raven floated down to land in front of the newcomer with trepidation.

"Like the cloak?" The emotion said in a bored tone, lifting a part of the cloth for inspection. "Abyssal black _would_ be the only color appropriate for me."

"What happened?" Raven asked, ignoring the comment. "Where are all the others?"

"Catastrophe." She replied, gesturing wide to the area around her. "Gone."

"And who are you exactly?" Raven furrowed her brow, confused by this stranger that had her face.

The black cloaked woman tilted her head. "You can't tell? It's fairly obvious."

The empath gave her a flat look. "Why would I ask if I thought I knew?"

The emotion sighed, annoyed. "It's exceedingly simple, Raven. What happens when you take all your negative feelings, all the anger, grief, remorse, and regret you _should_ be feeling, and you put them away somewhere you can ignore? What festers and spreads like a cancer through your psyche?" She asked, dull, black eyes reflecting Raven's own expression.

The gears turned in her head, and Raven's face grew incredulous as she drew the only conclusion she could. "You're not seriously telling me that I'm–"

"Depressed?" Her clone interrupted, dryly sarcastic. "No, _of course_ _not_. You're _Raven_. You were fine after that snake Malchior broke your heart. You were fine after Trigon came, and the world ended. You'll be fine no matter what." She taunted.

"What are you saying?"

"Nothing that shouldn't be painfully clear." Her words dripped with caustic irony. "After all, weren't you able to handle yourself both times without any help?"

"What are you talking about? The others have always been there for me."

"Perhaps. But one in particular was our champion, not that you ever cared to give credit where credit was due."

"Who, Robin?"

"Ugh. That's _not_ who I am talking about."

"Who else then?"

Depression shook her head. "Blind, or stupid? Or does the truth scare you that much?" She whispered, more to herself than to Raven.

"What about my powers?" Raven asked, trying to get back on track. "If my mind is in such turmoil, why isn't it manifesting in the real world? There's barely been a tremor in my control."

"How can one so proud of her intellect be so spectacularly clueless? _Think_ , Raven. Your powers are fueled by your emotions. But here we stand, alone in this empty waste." Depression droned.

"So, what?" She asked. "They're just gone forever?"

"No."

"Then _what_?"

"Your powers are dormant, sleeping. Depression is lack of will. The lack of will inherent in utter apathy. In hopelessness. Without will, there is no power." Her reflection informed her. "But it won't last much longer. You're already teetering at the edge."

"Is that supposed to scare me?" Raven glared at her clone. "Stop wasting my time and release the others."

"I told you, I'm not holding them. They're waiting. You're the one who sent them away, vainly hoping to postpone the pain."

"Let them come, then." Raven was getting angry now. "I've spent my entire life fighting the personification of demonic fury left in my mind by my father. I think I can handle a little pain."

"You poor, naïve girl. I pity you for what's coming." Depression told her with a sad shake of her head. "This Sword of Damocles hangs by spider's silk. It seems so strong, and yet, it doesn't take much to make it fall. When it finally does… it's going to hurt, Raven. More than anything before. More than you can bear."

"Enough!" Raven snapped, forcing her voice to sound stronger than she felt. In truth, she felt like she was falling and could see the ground rushing up to meet her. "I'm going to be fine! We're _all_ going to be fine!"

"Except for Beast Boy."

She felt her heart shudder, and stumbled back, gasping for breath, almost as if a physical blow had struck her. It felt like a hole had been ripped open in her chest, and everything in the world was going to fall through it. She tried to turn from the black cloak, and dead eyes, not wanting to see the awful truth. She wanted to run, but her legs weren't listening.

 _No. No no no. It can't be. Not him. Please not him._

But it was already too late.

Her legs lost all strength, and she sank to her knees as it finally hit home, the last nail in the coffin.

Beast Boy was dead.

Raven collapsed completely then, a strangled cry escaping her lips. She curled into her cloak as she lay there, her body wracked by great sobs, every single emotion bleeding out of her with each teardrop. And around her crumpled, weeping form, the world shook and shattered.

.

.

Jinx knew something had happened the moment she set foot on the island. The atmosphere was heavy and dark around the T-shaped tower, making the hairs on the back of her neck thrum with anxious energy. Her immediate concern was Cyborg, of course. The big man was often sent out on his own, instead of being paired up with one of the others. The hexstress had petitioned Robin for a more permanent spot on the team to avoid that very situation, but as she paced the elevator floor, waiting for it to reach the top, she feared that she was too little too late.

The mistress of misfortune burst into the ops room, throwing her bag to one side while she frantically looked for someone else. With no one in sight, she sprinted through the Tower, desperate for a sign that her friends were all right. Finally, she found the boy wonder in his office. The room was dark, the atmosphere inside darker still. Robin sat at his desk, the surface of which was strewn about with papers, binders, and folders. The masked hero held a few sheets in each hand, alternately looking at them and the computer screen on the desk. With caution, the pink haired sorceress approached.

"Robin." She said to announce her presence.

"Jinx." He replied, glancing up. Even through his mask, Jinx could tell. Something was terribly, terribly wrong.

"What happened here? Where are the others?" She asked with a dry mouth, anxiety building.

He took in a breath. "Starfire is in her room. Raven is… not here. Cyborg is in the medical bay. As to what happened…"

"Is Victor hurt?! Why didn't anyone call me!?" The witch yelled. "Who did it!? Whoever it was, I'm gonna–!"

Robin seemed to flinch at her last comment. "No, no. Victor is fine. He wasn't the one who was…" The Titans' leader stopped, the words caught in his throat.

Standing opposite of him, Jinx was filled with relief, and then confusion. "If Vic is fine, then why is he in the med bay?"

It was a question she immediately wished she hadn't asked, because it's answer was all but rhetorical, and begged another, more troubling question. The whereabouts of the previously unmentioned fifth Titan.

"There was an incident during our last mission–" Robin began, but Jinx didn't wait for the rest. She spun on her heel and sprinted from the room.

.

.

The med bay was cold. Colder than ice. As Jinx stood, and stared at the form that lay on the table, covered by only a thin white sheet, she felt that cold seep into her. It was a horrible, aching feeling that permeated her entire body, sapping her strength until she was forced to stumble over to a chair and sit. Her mind couldn't quite comprehend what she was seeing. Surely it was a joke. A terrible, poorly thought out, incredibly cruel joke. Any minute now, he would sit up with a cheeky grin, and Jinx could tear him a new one for making her feel this gnawing, numbing chill.

"A custom-made, .44 caliber hollowpoint round penetrated his sternum at point-blank range, embedding itself in the inside portion of his left lung." A familiar voice muttered from the corner. The pink haired woman turned to see Cyborg sitting not far from her, the muscles of his face slack, his eyes unfocused, dispassionate. "Aside from the obvious physical trauma caused by the projectile, profuse bleeding occurred immediately afterward, and the organ started filling with blood."

"Victor…?" Jinx's voice trembled out. Her heart broke to see him in such a state.

"Not long after, the subject received a second injury. A similar custom-made round penetrated his frontal lobe, spreading and shattering after impact." He continued in a haunting monotone. "The assailant fled the scene, and the subject was left… unattended for some time. After discovering the subject, our team made haste to bring him here, where attempts were made to resuscitate the subject in question."

"Vic?" She sobbed, tears beginning to cloud her eyes.

The eldest Titan turned to look at her, blank expression unchanged. "All efforts were futile. Subject was dead on arrival."

Jinx launched herself at him then, wrapping her arms around him, and burying her face in his neck. She couldn't bear to see him with that expression, and sought to give the reassurance and comfort she desperately wanted for herself. "You did your best." She told him between shuddering breaths. "You did everything you could. Everything within your power."

"He's dead, Jinx." Cyborg's voice cracked. "He was my friend. The closest thing I had to a brother."

"I know, Vic. Me too." She cried into his shoulder.

They stayed like that, his large arms cradling her as her pale ones embraced him, until the tin man finally broke down and wept.

A small cough sounded from the doorway, and the two forlorn Titans looked up to see Robin. He stood with one hand on the threshold of the entrance, and a tight expression adorning his face. "Starfire and Raven are waiting in the ops room. I know this will be difficult, but we need to discuss contacting his next of kin, and… what to do with his remains."

.

.

The five Titans gathered in the ops room, sitting or standing in a circle, silent in their grief and mourning. Each of them had their own thoughts running through their minds, trying to process the heavy blow they had all been dealt. They knew what they had to do, what they had to discuss, but none of them wanted to say the first word. The wound was too new, too fresh for them to consider the next step. It was the unusually quiet alien Princess who spoke first.

"I think, we should bury him with Terra." She whispered finally, her normal energy and cheer gone. "He would like that."

Raven shook her head. "He should be laid to rest here, on the island. He deserves to be in the sun."

"Decisions like that should be left to his family." Robin said.

"We _are_ his family." Cyborg's expression darkened with his retort.

"His _real_ family, Vic. They deserve to."

"Do we know who that is?" Jinx asked, genuinely curious, despite the somber emotions she was feeling. She realized she had no clue about Beast Boy's previous life.

Silence prevailed once more as the other Titans realized the same. None of them could remember Beast Boy mentioning anything about himself at all. In fact, when they thought about it they realized that he was the only one who's past hadn't been exhumed, and put on display for the whole team. They'd had a couple run-ins with Starfire's sadistic older sister, and had visited her planet more than once; Cyborg's accident, the death of his mother, and issues with his father had been discussed a few times; Raven's father had literally come to destroy the Earth; Robin had explained some of his tragic history, and even revealed his identity to the core Titans. But everything about the green changeling, even his name, had remained effectively unknown.

This revelation sent the already dark and melancholic mood plummeting. Here they were, claiming their deceased as friend and family, and yet they knew literally next to nothing about him. One more regret to place at the very top of a growing pile.

"There's no mention of Beast Boy before Starfire's arrival." Cyborg said after a moment of searching through the Internet.

Robin scrunched his brow, confused. "What?"

"There are no records of Beast Boy prior to the formation of the Teen Titans." The cybernetic man repeated with shock. " _Anywhere_. I can't find anything even resembling him before that date."

Soon they were all searching, but with each passing moment, they were all beginning to realize how horribly neglectful they had been towards one of their own. Had any of them bothered to ask anything? Starfire began to weep again, and leaned into Robin's shoulder. The masked hero remained silent and still, trying to school himself into a calmer state. After another moment, Robin had regained control of himself, and cleared his throat to gain his team's attention. "Cyborg, will you go get the emergency files? Maybe he left something in there."

The large man nodded, then left the room. He returned a little while later, holding a single, padded yellow envelope. He held it out to Robin with a look of confusion.

"This was all I could find from him in the files." He said.

Robin stood and took the envelope with a frown, turning it over to get a look at each side. Across the front of the envelope, printed in neat and purposeful handwriting, were the words, _Just in case_. He looked around the circle at his friends. They were all staring at him intently, but said nothing as they waited. Carefully, he ripped open the top and upended the envelope into his hands, not entirely sure what to expect.

A flat black rectangle slipped smoothly out of the packaging, and plopped into his hand, almost startling him. Robin glanced up again at his friends, and saw that they were equally surprised. Flipping the object over to inspect it, he realized that it was some sort of communicator, with one side being a screen. He found a button on one edge of the device, and pressed it, thinking it would turn it on.

The device, however, started ringing…

.

.

Oh, _I went there_.

Guest – this is more or less what you wanted, right?

Deans1000 – me too, I absolutely love dark and brutal stories. And I always like casting Beast Boy in a more serious, darker role.

Mr. nobod – who will be on the other end of the phone? Will the Titans ever recover? Who was Beast Boy, really? Find out next time on, The Roles. We. Play. [Epic outro music]

jromero908 – or something. Lazarus Pit, probably. Just dunk 'im in, he'll be aight…

iluvfriedchicken – I mean, I'll see what I can do. There wasn't a scene like that in the original story, but I'm sure I can finagle it in there somewhere…

Wiiij – Uuuuuh, how indeed… Thanks!

PSI-Triforce – you make a very good point about that, and I thank you for reminding me of it. Honestly, it's something that bothered me as well so I hope I can do a more satisfactory version of it this time around. For subtly's sake though, it might've been better to just message me… Thanks for the review though!

darkvendetta – thanks, it helps that I don't have to think of every little thing and can focus on just writing good. Well. Writing well.

Mind – thanks, I hope you like this one too!

Zonetan – expect the unexpected, that way the unexpected will always be expected, and therefore be the expected.

Junsuaiim – I aim to please. As for the whole threesome thing, that will be explained and dealt with later. Just have faith that everything is there by design, and according to my plan. I don't particularly hate Robin in any way, but for the purpose of the story, he is kind of a douche.

RATTLEHEAD414 – thanks!

TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne – the answer was D, _NONE OF THE ABOVE_!

Bet none of you were expecting that! Or maybe some of you were. Let me know how shocked, or un-shocked you were in the reviews, and don't forget to follow and favorite!

– Mocha


	6. And on the Third Day…

… And kept ringing. The black rectangle rang several times before ceasing abruptly. Robin stared at it, inspecting the device. So, it was definitely some type of communicator. He glanced at his team gathered around him, and they looked as equally curious and confused as he was. Without any idea of what the device was for, or who it had called, Robin decided the next course of action and held it out to the tech expert on the team.

"Cyborg, see if you ca–"

The device in his hand started ringing again, this time with a different, louder tone, causing him to stop. Again, he stared at the device, and then his team, seeing their expectation in their expressions. After mulling it over for a moment, Robin thumbed the button, answering the communicator.

"Hello?" He ventured cautiously, peering at the screen.

The line remained silent, and the screen remained black.

"Hello, is someone there? This is Robin, of the Teen Titans."

Silence answered him once more.

"He–"

"How did you come to possess the communicator you're holding?" A gruff male voice interrupted.

Caught off guard, Robin took a second to answer. "It was… left in my care. May I ask who this is?"

"And _where_ is the owner of the device?" The voice snapped.

Robin swallowed, trying to maintain composure. "The owner, Beast Boy, was … He was killed in action less than forty-eight hours ago."

"I see." The reply came without hesitation, or any noticeable change in tone. The Titans exchanged glances. "Cause of death?"

The Boy Wonder was once again thrown for a loop, by the question, and by the impatient voice. "He was shot defending a friend, and member of his team." Robin paused, waiting for some sort of condolence, or acknowledgment of his friend's sacrifice. When neither were forthcoming, he awkwardly pressed on. "I'm searching for his next of kin to inform them of his passing, and to see if they have a preference as to how he's laid to rest. May I ask who this is?"

"Then you still have his body?" The voice asked, ignoring Robin's question.

"Yes sir, but–"

"Very well."

The line clicked dead, and the Titans were left staring at the black rectangle in Robin's gloved hand. Bewildered, and uncertain, none of them could properly formulate words. Who was the owner of that voice? How did he know Beast Boy? Why did Beast Boy have this communicator in the first place? These questions and more spun in their heads as they processed the conversation.

"What the hell was that all about?" Cyborg grumbled.

.

.

The gunman tapped his thumb against the console he was standing in front of, anxiously waiting for his call to connect. He shouldn't have taken the job. His gut had immediately sent up warning flags, but the money… The money had been too good. Now, he might as well just dig a grave and wait in it. Greed had always been his downfall, perhaps literally this time. Finally, the call connected, and a masked man with one eye appeared on his screen.

"Dante." The ex-mercenary greeted him. "One down, but still four more to go. I expect you already have a plan in place?"

Dante barked a bitter laugh. "Not bloody likely! If I wanted to die, it'd be in bed with a woman. What the _hell_ were you thinking, Slade!?"

The single eye narrowed menacingly. "I was thinking that I had hired professionals to do a job, not call me to gripe about… What exactly?"

"Oh, like you don't know." His face screwing up in disgust, Dante leaned on the console. "Job's off. I'm gonna find a nice third world country to hole up in, and hope that maybe, _maybe_ , they won't find me. That's the best my sorry ass can hope for."

"Don't be a fool. If you don't complete the job, you won't get paid. It would also put you on poor terms with the person put out the contract."

"Money is the least of my concerns right now, and I don't give a damn about some guy can't kill a person with his own hands. I'm trying to get the hell out of dodge before they can exact their revenge."

Slade looked at him curiously. "You're making it sound like they're out for blood. Get a hold of yourself, Dante. They're barely more than children."

"Oh, it's not the Titans that worry me. You really screwed me, you bastard." Dante glared at the shadowy man on the screen.

"The Justice League? I've battled the Titans multiple times, and not once have they deigned to intervene." Slade said. "I doubt they'll be a problem."

For a moment, Dante didn't respond. Then he burst out laughing. It was a hard, dry laugh devoid of any joy. "You _didn't_ know!" He exclaimed, like it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard. "That's just rich!"

His single eye narrowed again, but Slade didn't say anything. It was clear he was trying to figure out what he was missing, which made the situation even more hilarious to Dante. He had called to see if Slade had set him and his crew up, but now he could see that was clearly not the case.

"As a courtesy from one professional to another, here's some advice." The gunman said when the laughter had left him. "Drop this. Cut your ties, and get out."

"And why would I do that?" The masked man asked, his tone sardonic, condescending.

"Because that green munchkin I double tapped was a member of the Doom Patrol." Dante told him flatly.

Even with the mask on, Dante could see that the news had shocked the ex-mercenary.

"I hadn't realized you were in the habit of entertaining ghost stories." Slade said after a moment. "The Doom Patrol is an urban legend. Nothing more."

"A team of highly trained, superpowered soldiers with no allegiance, no accountability, and no restrictions, hell-bent on exterminating corruption and evil by any means necessary? Yeah, you're probably right. It's ridiculous, like a crimefighter dressing up as a bat, or an alien that's invulnerable to everything except green rocks. Look, I don't care if you believe me or not, but let me ask you this," Dante leaned forward on the console again. "Are you willing to bet your life on 'probably'?"

He cut the call then, not caring to see if Slade took him seriously. Whether the ex-mercenary heeded his advice or not didn't really matter to him. He had bigger concerns. There was a brief knock at the door, before it opened, and a huge head poked in.

"Chopper is gearing up for takeoff." The large man said, holding an ice pack to one of his eyes. "Leaving soon."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Dante said, snatching up the duffel bag at his feet. "Let's get the fuck out of here."

.

.

Raven found herself in Nevermore once again. Her powers had all but vanished, and she was desperate to find some tranquility. To rid herself of the gaping hole in the center of her very being. And so, she came to stand before the grim representation of her decaying psyche, in much the same spot where they had first met.

"Have you come to face the truth, finally?" Asked her black cloaked reflection.

"I know he's dead." The empath said in a dry, lifeless voice. "I know he's not coming back."

Depression stared at her blankly. "… Still deaf and blind, then." She pronounced with a resigned sigh. "Perhaps it's just as well."

"You sure love to kick people when they're down." Raven said harshly.

"Well, I'm you, so… Yes."

"You don't think this is hard enough already? Beast Boy is dead, all because of us. Us, and our negligence… And to top it all off, we didn't know the first thing about him…"

Her clone cocked her head to the side. "So, the witch girl _does_ have feelings after all. Only in the end, when it's too late." Depression remarked. "Does it hurt then? Knowing he will never return?"

Raven glowered at the dark emotion. "Of _course_ it does. He was one of the most important people in my life!"

"I see." Depression replied, unperturbed. "I wonder where all this was when he was still alive?"

"What the hell kind of question is that?!" Raven yelled.

"An important one." The replica shook her head. "Though it's probably pointless."

"What? _Why_?! Why are you doing this?!"

Sighing again, Depression lifted her legs to float in the lotus position. "Because I'm the only one around who can. Because I'm bored. Because I represent your self-loathing and self-pity. But mostly, because I am sick and tired of waiting."

"Waiting for what!?" Raven sobbed. "Why can't you ever speak clearly?!"

"I'm trying, Raven." The emotion said. "You're the one that's not listening."

.

.

Robin walked towards his office, his eyes scanning the newspaper in his hand. It had nearly been three days since they lost Beast Boy, and they had been lucky. For the most part, crime had been relatively lax, requiring maybe two Titans at the most for each incident. This was good, because the group as a whole was suffering. They were all feeling the loss, and regret, but now also confusion. The communicator they found yesterday, and the man they had spoken with, left too many questions up in the air. Most prominently, who had Beast Boy been? Even after Robin had investigated his late teammate's room, he still didn't have an answer. Suddenly, the Boy Wonder became aware of another presence in the room. He dodged, rolling to one side as he drew his staff and an exploding disk.

A man stood at his desk, seemingly engrossed with something on the computer monitor. He didn't seem to notice that Robin had entered the room, not bothering to look up at the commotion. His head was adorned with an odd helmet that obscured the upper portion of his face.

"Who are you?" Robin growled.

The man briefly glanced at him. "Gather your team, Robin. I have a few questions." He said tersely.

Robin snapped. After everything that had happened in the past two days, all the emotional turmoil inside him needed somewhere to go. " _Who are you!?_ " He yelled angrily, charging.

For moment, he wasn't sure what had happened. He had been running at the intruder, and the man had made this sharp gesture, and now he wasn't sure what his eyes were telling him. Then he realized he was staring at the ground. _From the ceiling_. The Titan leader was plastered against the ceiling, arms and legs splayed in a spread eagle. Some sort of invisible force was holding him there, and he couldn't move his limbs. His eyes went back to the uninvited guest in the room. The man walked around from behind the desk, watching Robin dispassionately.

"Impulsive. Quick to anger. Qualities unbecoming a leader." He observed dryly, before looking off to the side. "No. No…"

"When I get down from here…" Robin began before being dropped to the floor. He managed to catch himself, and rolled to where his weapons had been discarded. Snatching them up, he spun his staff in one hand and primed the explosive disk with the other.

"Decent reflexes. Perhaps you're right, they _are_ still young." The man murmured, analyzing Robin with cold blue eyes. "Time will tell, I suppose."

"I'm going to ask you a third time." Robin said threateningly, his mind racing with plans of attack. "Who. The hell. Are you?"

"I'm here regarding 'Beast Boy'." The man stated calmly, despite Robin's battle stance. "You said he was killed in combat, yes?"

That took Robin by surprise, the wheels in his head beginning to turn. He lowered his weapons slightly, but didn't drop his guard. "You were the voice, from the communicator yesterday."

The man nodded once. "I am. Now, gather your team in the main room. I have a few questions regarding your mission at the bank."

The stranger left the room with a bold military stride, leaving Robin nonplussed, and more than a little angry.

.

.

The Titans burst into the ops room in full force, expecting a battle. They did not find one. Instead, they found three people standing in the center of the room, talking quietly to each other. One was the man Robin had seen before, with the strange helmet. Across from him stood a large robotic humanoid, whose thick arms were crossed over his barrel chest, and next to him stood a tall, thin man who was wrapped from head to toe in white bandages. Another thing that Robin noticed, which gave him pause, was the uniform they all wore. It was black and purple, exactly like Beast Boy's. This group of strange people ignored the Titans' dramatic entrance, and continued their quiet discussion, only stopping when Cyborg coughed awkwardly.

The man looked up at the group of young adults, unsurprised. "Have we calmed down enough to have a rational discussion?"

" _Rational discussion_?" Robin repeated, outrage in his voice. "I think that option pretty much went out the window when you broke into our home!"

"It is not my intention to fight with you, or give you reason to fight with us. However, I had to make certain this tower and its inhabitants hadn't been compromised." The man explained. "A sentiment I think your mentor would approve of."

The Boy Wonder ground his teeth, infuriated even more at the mention of his adoptive father.

Cyborg stepped up next to Robin, leveling his sonic cannon. "Would you mind telling us exactly what the hell you're doing here?"

The man cocked his head slightly. "Yesterday, we received a call from you, informing us of the incident involving Beast Boy. We are here now to ascertain the details surrounding the incident, and to see his body."

"And who exactly is 'we'?" Raven asked from the back of the group.

The man regarded her thoughtfully, then turned to his group. "… Call us… The Doom Patrol." He turned back to the Titans. "You may address me as Mento."

The door at the opposite side of the room opened, and the Titans tensed, preparing for an attack. A woman strode in, carrying a pitcher of water and a single empty glass. She had brown hair, green eyes, and she wore the same uniform as the three men in the center of the room. Pausing only a moment to take in the situation, the woman calmly walked to join the strangers, and placed the pitcher and glass on the table nearby.

Mento turned to the strange man wrapped in bandages. "What did you find?"

The bandage man produced a small stack of manila folders, each of them thick with papers, and handed them over to his leader. After momentarily perusing them, Mento went back to the first one. "Robin, a.k.a. Richard Grayson." He said, earning a stunned expression from the Titans. "Batman's first apprentice, expert martial artist, expert detective."

He dropped that folder on the table with a soft _thump_ , and went to the next.

"Cyborg, a.k.a. Victor Stone. Medical expert, technology expert, inventor."

 _Thump_.

"Starfire, a.k.a. Koriand'r. Imperial Princess of Tamaran, warrior."

 _Thump_.

"Jinx, a.k.a. Jennifer Exley. Former villainess, sorceress, probability manipulator."

 _Thump_.

"Raven, a.k.a. Rachel Roth. Queen of Demons, Usurper of the Bastard Realms, sorceress."

 _Thump_.

"From just a cursory glance of his files, I can see that Beast Boy held an amount of respect and high regard for each of you." Mento gazed at each of them with narrowed eyes. "Can someone then explain to me how, despite your seeming over qualification for the task, the events of the incident seventy-two hours ago resulted in the fall of your comrade?"

There was a long, silent moment where no one spoke or moved. Then an explosive sigh broke the tension, and all eyes were drawn towards the pink haired girl standing with the young superheroes.

"I… wasn't actually there, but I read the report after." Jinx said tentatively.

Robin's head whipped around to glare at her. "Jinx!" He hissed warningly.

Jinx rolled her eyes irritably. "Oh come off it, bird boy. If they wanted to attack us, they would've done it when they had the element of surprise. Besides, look at their clothes." Stepping forward, she refocused on the leader of The Doom Patrol. "The bank robbery happened around midday, and they arrived at the scene within minutes. They were told five lightly armed suspects were inside, holding a number of hostages."

She paused, crossing her arms and looking to the side. "The plan was simple enough; Robin and Starfire would cause a distraction in the front, while Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Raven infiltrated the back to evacuate the hostages. Then they would help engage the bank robbers after." Jinx cleared her throat, and blinked rapidly for a moment, tears starting to well up in her eyes. "And it worked. The plan went off without a hitch. It was only after, that things went wrong…"

As she trailed off, Jinx's voice tightened with emotion, and she turned slightly to hide her face. She leaned into Cyborg's embrace when he came to stand by her, weeping softly. The cybernetic man looked down at her, his own face reflecting her grief. Looking back up at The Doom Patrol, he tried to pull himself back together. They seemed largely unaffected by displays of emotion.

"Shortly after apprehending the five original suspects, we were attacked." He told them tersely, hardening his resolve. "A man in a powered exosuit tackled me outside, and I was forced to deal with him by myself."

"I was taken by surprise at the same time." A small voice chimed in, and everyone turned to look at the previously quiet alien Princess. "Another unforeseen adversary wielded some type of weaponized gauntlet, I am not sure. It stunned me for a moment, and while I was incapacitated, Robin went to fight him. He was thrown back, and injured."

Raven floated forward a bit, and spoke in a dead monotone. "While I used my powers to heal Robin, Starfire dealt with the second man, and then came to assist me. None of us had any idea there was a third man."

"When we… We watched the security tapes later, we found out that Beast Boy had intercepted a bullet that was meant for Raven from a third gunman." Cyborg went on, struggling to keep from being overwhelmed. "They spoke for a moment after that, but there was no sound, so there's no way to know what they actually said. Then the gunman…"

"How was he," The woman spoke up suddenly. "In the moment of his death?"

"He was…" Robin said unexpectedly, relaxing his stance slightly. "… Brave until the very end. He never wavered."

The woman nodded, as if she expected his answer.

"Continue." Mento ordered, earning a sour look from Robin. However, the Boy Wonder stopped, seeming to swallow a scathing retort.

"After dealing with my injury, we regrouped. We spoke for a moment before realizing Beast Boy had not returned. Upon finding…" The Titan leader hesitated. "… His body, we rushed back here to perform emergency surgery. Ultimately, we were unsuccessful."

For a long moment, no one said anything. The Titans stood silent, anxiously waiting for The Doom Patrol's response, while the strangers were still, standing at rigid attention with their hands clasped behind their backs. Mento regarded the young heroes slowly, his narrowed blue eyes assessing each of them coldly.

"And the three men? Where are they?" He inquired gruffly.

"We don't know." Robin answered, angry and ashamed. "In the aftermath, we were so preoccupied with Beast Boy…"

Mento grunted in his throat. "If I'm not mistaken, there was another mission not too long ago where Beast Boy was put in unnecessary peril."

"There was a mission in the last month, where Beast Boy had to act as bait in a joint operation with the FBI. We had to step away for a moment to deal with an escaped criminal, but we left him with the FBI–"

"– and he was snatched right out from under them. And it didn't occur to any of you that this escaped criminal was part of the serial killer's plan?" The older man interrupted.

"Not immediately…"

"I see. His safe return was not you're doing either, correct?"

"We're usually a lot more careful." Cyborg said defensively. "We're usually much more–"

"What 'usually' _is_ , is irrelevant." Mento cut him off harshly. "The teammate you allegedly cared so much forlies cold and motionless."

Robin scowled angrily. "Listen here, asshole, you weren't there! You don't know what it was like –"

"Robin." Raven stuck a hand out to stop him. "I apologize. This is the first time something like this has happened, and we're each taking it very hard." She explained.

"Yes, I'm beginning to see a pattern."

The empath raised an eyebrow at Mento's response. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Sentimentality and emotional attachment are the reasons for your failure." He stated dryly.

"Excuse me?" Raven asked, outraged leaking into her voice.

"If your personal relationships negatively affect the performance of the team, then they are distractions." Mento pronounced impassively. "Distractions must be done away with."

Jinx suddenly whirled around, fury and pain coloring her expression. "Who the hell are _you_ to say anything!?" She yelled. "He was on our team, not yours, so he clearly wasn't happy with you!"

Turning to her, it was Mento's turn to raise an eyebrow. "And can you say he was happy here, knowing exactly how much of himself he kept from you?"

Jinx opened her mouth to fire back an answer, but found she didn't have one. The room plunged into silence, each of The Titans going back and questioning every interaction they'd ever had with the green changeling. Had they known him at all? More questions than answers were piling up, only highlighting exactly how terrible they'd been to their teammate.

The woman shook her head slightly. "Enough. We didn't come here to lecture." She turned to her large metallic teammate. "Where is he being kept?"

"In the med bay." The bronze colored man said. "One floor down."

"Then let's go."

The Doom Patrol left the room with a brisk walk, The Titans on their heels, despite Robin's protests.

.

.

Both The Titans and The Doom Patrol stood absolutely silent, all eyes locked on the supine form hidden by a white sheet. The young heroes had watched the older heroes on the way down, and they were deeply disturbed at how little each of them seemed to care. Even now, each of their faces was blank, completely emotionless. Mento approached the operating table after a moment.

"It… It might be a little hard to look at him." Cyborg said warningly. "There was extensive damage."

"You said the incident took place a little under seventy-two hours ago?" Mento asked, looking briefly at the watch on his wrist.

"That's right..."

"Hmm… Slow."

With one quick movement, Mento pulled the white sheet clear, exposing Beast Boy's body. There was a collective intake of breath from the Titans, the majority of them having not seen the full extent of the damage. His suit had been ripped open, exposing his chest. Two holes, one in his brow, the other in his chest, stood out against his green skin. Cyborg had not had to do much more than minor surgery to remove the bullet fragments, which preserved the wholeness of the shape shifter's body.

At the sight of his cooling form, the Titans nearly lost their composure. Jinx and Starfire began openly crying, while Cyborg tried to comfort them, as Robin and Raven seemed to withdraw into themselves. In stark contrast, The Doom Patrol remained unchanged by the revelation of Beast Boy's body. Mento examined him with clinical detachment before turning back to his team.

"Should be fine." He announced to them, holding out a hand. The woman reached into her utility belt, withdrawing a small, pistol-like device, and handing it to Mento. Without any preamble, the helmeted man pressed the stubby barrel of the device against the changeling's neck, and pulled the trigger.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Cyborg yelled, grabbing the man by the shoulder and turning him around forcibly.

"What needs to be done." Mento said evenly, staring down the cybernetically enhanced hero.

"You got a lot of nerve–" Cyborg began, but stopped short when something unexpected happened.

Beast Boy _moved_.

Abruptly, the once still body lurched up from the table, arching its back almost to the point of breaking. Just as suddenly, it slammed back down with a crash, convulsing violently. The Titans were speechless, none of them able to fully comprehend what was happening. Robin moved in front of his group, eyes wide, one arm protectively shielding Starfire, whose own hands covered her mouth in shock. Still gripping Mento's uniform, Cyborg stood with mouth agape, half turned towards the spasming form. Jinx was almost by her boyfriend's side, frozen in mid-motion, her eyes transfixed on what was happening. Raven remained at the back of the group, too many things racing through her head. What did this mean? Who are these people? What did they give to him? Questions fired off in her mind, too fast for answers, and ricocheting off at different angles. They watched the cadaver of their friend seize uncontrollably, the sight of it not completely registering in their stunned minds.

"The reaction is much stronger than before." The woman observed, a hint of concern just barely coloring her tone.

"It has been some time." Mento replied. "Some readjustment is necessary."

Impossibly, they saw sweat begin to bead on Beast Boy's emerald skin as he thrashed about, steam rising from him as blood seemed to boil in his open gunshot wounds. He bucked again, almost leaping off the table. Finally, his body ceased moving, falling back down to the operating table with a clatter. The whole thing couldn't have lasted more than thirty seconds.

" _What did you do_." Raven found herself growling the words, suddenly deep in the Rage that had been missing from her. She turned to The Doom Patrol slowly, her two eyes splitting into four, narrowed and red. " **What. Did. You.** _ **Do.**_ "

.

.

Hate-eater – hey man, sorry for taking so long, and thanks for the reviews! You're right, there aren't a lot of stories where BB is a serious character, or taken very seriously, which I find greatly irritating. It's become a sort of accidental mission of mine to write more stories portraying him as a full person, with many sides and layers to his character. Raven too.

Deans1000 – I guess either one works. Maybe 'felt my heart drop to my stomach' is the better one. I don't know. Thanks for your review!

RATTLEHEAD414 – hey! Thanks for waiting!

Castro – thanks for waiting! What did you think of this chapter?

Thanks for reading! Tell me what you thought, and don't forget to follow and favorite! Also, be sure to check out my other stories!


	7. Life after death

Guest-ha ha I'm glad I can bring the entertainment!

Deans 1000-okay then well here you go.

Castro-you humble me, sir.

Mag2K-whoa that's a lot of questions! And, yeah, I'm not too fond of the threesome situation either. But, it was in the original story so… As for the other stuff, this will be a more mature slowburn for a little bit longer I'm afraid, and I have no plans as of yet to involve The Beast but we'll see as we travel further down the road. For Cyborg, it could have been Jinx or Bumblebee, both were in the original version. I'm not particularly invested in either, but I tend to pick Jinx first.

San Juan- aqui, new chapter.

Guest-I know, I'm a real son of a bitch, ain't I? LOL

OdaStider-hey man, any review is a good review! I'm glad you enjoyed my work and that it helps you chill out.

KF fan-hey, thanks for reviewing! I'll try and be less annoying when I'm soliciting people to become followers LOL.

N0tInteresting-wow, better than the original? That some high praise! I'm right there with you about the whole Robin being central to the Trigon arc. Made no damn sense.

Hate Eater-hey, thanks for the tip about Nth metal, though I'm not sure what I came up with is any better. We'll see I guess.

Lou Buggins-the wait is finally over! Dive on in, my friend!

.

.

Of his five natural senses, his auditory perception was the first to return. Distant, and muffled, it was hard to distinguish anything recognizable from the dull noise all around as it slowly faded in. Like listening to an argument two floors up. Next was his smell. He drew in a deep breath through his nose, and picked up a myriad of scents, making him aware of the people, things, and chemicals around him. Taste came back strongly, making him aware of his dry mouth, and the flavor of stale blood. Touch, and everything that came with it, became more prevalent as he realized he was lying on something hard, and cold. With one weak arm, he pushed himself up, the room spinning as his equilibrium readjusted. Opening his eyes to only a squint, everything flashed blurry and bright, causing a throbbing pain to burst deep in the center of his brain. He grimaced, clenching them shut. Just a touch sensitive.

When he opened his eyes next, a hand holding a glass of water had appeared before him. He took it gratefully, and drank greedily, relishing the cool, sweet taste of the liquid as it parched his burning thirst, and cleansed his mouth of the foul taste. He held the glass out to be refilled, and drained it twice more before finally feeling ready to talk.

"How long?" He asked hoarsely, closing his eyes again.

"Three days." A familiar woman's voice answered. "Give or take a few hours."

"Took your time getting here…"

"We didn't receive word until yesterday. And we were busy."

Gar coughed. "Typical." He turned to look at the woman standing next to him. She had brown hair, and warm green eyes. "I missed you."

Rita, his adoptive mother, gave a small, but loving smile. "Me too."

"How do you feel?" Another voice said from his other side.

Gar turned towards Larry, the heavily bandaged man who had asked the question, and nodded. "Dehydrated and undernourished, but everything should be fine otherwise."

The man nodded in return. "I see. Here." He stepped forward, letting a large duffel bag drop to the floor, and reaching in to retrieve a rectangular matte green package. Gar took it, ripping the corner with his teeth, and scarfing down the contents.

He was on his second bar when he looked around and realized the room was conspicuously empty. "Where is everyone?" He managed in between bites.

"They became agitated after observing the serum work on you." Larry explained. "Mento and Robotman have led them elsewhere to give them time to adjust. I do not think they understood exactly what we were doing."

Gar stopped chewing at that. "… Define 'agitated'."

"Argumentative, belligerent. Combative."

"Your friends are quite a handful." Rita mused. "Especially that Raven."

"Oh no." Eyes wide, the supplement bars slipped through his fingers. "Oh _hell_." Swinging his legs over the side of the table, he pushed off with his hands.

And immediately fell.

His legs, weak and unresponsive from being "dead", failed to support him as he collapsed to the ground. He cursed the numb appendages, struggling to rise, but his arms weren't much better.

"Calm yourself, no harm will come to your team." Rita soothed, kneeling down to help him. "Steve will treat them as gently as he can."

"You've got it backwards." Gar grunted, still half-trying for the door. "It's Raven. You know about her? What she is? _Who_ she is?"

"We're still reading through everything in your reports." Rita said.

"A demon with titles." Larry blinked. "Nobility of some sort, yes?"

"She's royalty, the _Queen_." He grimaced, trying to pull himself along the floor using the table leg. "For reasons that will become apparent, I've been doing a lot more research on their kind since joining this team. For now, just know that an angry Raven is seriously _bad_ news."

"If something happens we will handle it." Larry crossed his arms. "We've dealt with others like her before–"

" _There is no one like Raven_." The changeling growled, whipping his head around to glare at the both of them.

The two Doom Patrol members exchanged a glance.

Taking a deep breath, Gar used one hand to rub his face vigorously. "Look, just help me up before something really bad happens, okay?" He sighed, realizing he wasn't making any progress.

With another dubious glance to each other, his two former teammates helped lift him to a sort of standing position, and then he used Rita as a crutch to limp his way out of the room. Each step down the hall, and toward the common room only made his anxiety worse as the telltale signs of destruction began mounting. Lights were blown out, carpeting was ripped from the floor in certain areas, and deep gouges scarred the walls and ceiling every few feet. Twenty feet from the door, and he could hear the fighting. The grunts and shouts of his friends, the dispassionate tone of his adoptive father. And over everything, a voice like a raging volcano.

" _ **You will rue this day!**_ _ **You will repent ever thinking you could take what is mine!"**_

Gar groaned under his breath, and tried to quicken his pace. The doors slid open as he approached, and he quickly took in the scene they revealed. Jinx, and Starfire were floating in the middle of the room with Raven, the three of them tangled together as they attempted to calm her down. Robin and Cyborg had placed themselves between them and the other members of the Doom Patrol, poised and ready, though their attention was more focused on the three women. The tower shook as Gar stepped through the doorway, knocking everyone off balance as the ceiling seemed to explode downwards.

Through the falling debris and cloud of dust, Gar could see a section of I-beam engulfed in black aura as it was torn from the very skeleton of the building. Shrouded in dark energy, it twisted into a sharpened lance of iron, and with a scream, Raven launched it at Mento like a javelin. The older hero stepped to the side, mild irritation written in his eyes, if not on his serious expression, as the giant projectile narrowly missed him.

"As I said." The gruff telepath remarked, clucking his tongue. "Too emotional."

The demoness snarled, enraged, and the frenzied quaking of the tower intensified.

"Raven! You must stop now please!" Starfire yelled above the destruction. "You are breaking our home!"

"You seriously need to calm down!" Jinx shouted from her other side. "Or someone is seriously going to die!"

" _ **Yes! Die! Suffer!"**_ Raven screamed back, forcing the two women back with a blast of her powers. _ **"The world will burn, and there won't even be ashes remaining!"**_

Gar stood with wide eyes, his mind racing for a solution. Raven, and the other Titans were not handling this well, and the emotionally stagnant Doom Patrol leader was not helping. There was no time for subtlety or tact.

"Everybody!" He yelled, pushing away from his adoptive mother. " _STOP!_ "

The room immediately plunged into silence as the occupants registered the voice. The very air itself seemed to freeze in place as the Titans turned in unison to look at him. They each wore stunned expressions, even Raven, her four burning red eyes extinguishing as she sank to the ground. Taking a breath, Gar opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly found himself falling backwards, his head swimming.

.

.

Another wave of nauseating lightheadedness hit Gar as he sat on the common room couch, his head tilted back. He needed to refuel. The "revival" process took a lot out of him, and replacing everything used in the process was essential to keep his body functioning right after. Fortunately, the door behind him opened to reveal his large bronze friend, Cliff, carrying the large duffel bag from the med bay. Unslinging it from his shoulder, his former teammate placed it next to Gar on the couch, and gave him a look.

" _Beast Boy_ , eh?" He crossed his arms. "I see your sense of humor remains tragically intact."

"I don't know, _Robotman_ , you tell me." The changeling asked sardonically, reaching into the bag and retrieving a handful of packages. Cliff snorted, an odd sound coming from a metal man, but said nothing else.

"Don't let him fool you. We all love the superhero names you gave us." Rita said, a small smile gracing her features.

"Thank you, mother." Gar replied, ripping open one of the nutrient bars.

"Wait, _mother_?" Cyborg asked incredulously. "This woman is your _mom_?!"

Gar turned to face the oldest of his current team. Glancing around, he found each of the Titans frozen in various positions across from him, staring. Shock and confusion were easily readable on every one of their faces. At the back of his mind, Gar felt guilt creep its way in for what surely had to have been a harrowing experience for them.

"Wait no, hold on, before that," Cyborg said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "How _the fuck_ are you _alive_?!" He shouted.

Gar exchanged a glance with Steve, his adoptive father, but The Doom Patrol leader only tilted his head in an ambiguous gesture. Did that mean he wanted to see what Gar would do? Well, fine. The changeling was sick of secrets, and sick of pretending. His head was pounding, and all he wanted to do was sleep.

Dying, as it turns out, gives you one hell of a hangover.

With a sigh, he took a few bites, and leaned on one thigh with his hand. He regarded the Titans, his friends, thoughtfully. Silently. After a few moments, he swallowed.

"Axolotl." He said.

"Ax-oh what now? What the hell are you talking about?" The half metallic man asked, still struggling to come to grips with the situation.

Gar finished the nutrient bar in a couple bites, then opened another. "Axolotl. It's a type of salamander found in Mexico. It has an extraordinary ability to regenerate missing body parts, even including parts of its brain, because it's entirely neotenic." He explained. "Sea cucumbers can do the same. There are loads of animals capable of regenerating missing parts of their bodies. I can replicate that ability."

"That doesn't make any sense!" Cyborg yelled. "You didn't have a pulse! Zero brain activity!"

"You were dead." Jinx whispered, looking at him, eyes swirling with disbelief, confusion, and awe. "You had a hole in your skull, and you were dead."

Gar paused a moment to drink more water before he continued eating. "In the event of catastrophic damage to my person, I've trained my body to go into a sort of stasis, or hibernation. Put very simply, it shuts down my body almost to a cellular level, but also stops it from deteriorating for a time. Depending on the type of wound, and the severity, I can heal a great deal. If not," He pointed to his neck. "The serum they injected me with acts as a catalyst. A wake-up call, activating the regenerative abilities within my body, and kicking them into overdrive. The whole process uses a lot of energy and material, hence the bag of goodies." Gar finished, giving the duffel bag a light pat.

Looking at his team, he saw that this was a lot for them to process. No doubt they each had a million questions about who he was, and who these other people were, among other things. Gar glanced at Jinx. Maybe it was time to try and lighten the mood?

"But yes, technically I was dead." He conceded, then gave a small smirk. "Mostly dead. Not all-dead."

"No." Cyborg thrust a trembling finger at the changeling, his other hand coming up to wipe at his human eye. "Don't you dare reference beloved cinema right now, you sonofabitch..." Whatever else he might've said was lost as the big man started sobbing in earnest. Jinx broke from her stupor, and turned from Gar to comfort Cyborg.

"Beast Boy…" A quiet voice called from his left. Gar turned, and saw that Starfire had taken a few hesitant steps forward. Her eyes were teary, and one of her hands was reaching out towards him. "Is it truly… you?"

Nodding slowly, Gar answered. "Yes Starfire, it's really me." The alien Princess was wrapped around him before he finished replying, heaving great sobs into his shoulder. Still not entirely recovered, his first reaction was to push her off, but she wasn't crushing him, so he checked the impulse, and brought one tentative hand to pat her back gently. He had expected the Doom Patrol to be there, but other than that he hadn't known what else to anticipate when he "revived". Until he had joined the Titans, no one had really cared about his well-being. His eyes flicked towards The Doom Patrol, and their subdued reactions to everything going on. _Or they weren't great at showing it_.

"Why didn't you tell us? Not just about the healing. About everything."

Gar turned, but avoided locking eyes with Robin. "No one asked. Didn't seem important. Other things were happening. Lots of reasons." He replied with a shrug.

"How could we not know _anything_?" Robin shook his head. "How did you manage it? All this time we've been living with a stranger, and none of us ever questioned your existence. _How?_ " His voice might have held a note of admiration in it, but was tempered by his anger.

"It was mostly just… misdirection and distraction." Gar shrugged again, still holding the weeping Starfire. He needed to regroup. Clear his head, and get his thoughts in order. "Look." He sighed. "You have a lot of questions, I get it, but I'm not really at one hundred percent right now. Can this wait until tomorrow?"

"No, you're going to answer all of my questions. _Now_." The Titan leader growled.

"Enough! You can squabble later, there is no more time to waste." The Doom Patrol leader barked.

Robin spun to glare at him. " _Squabble_!?"

"Three days have passed, and you are no closer to finding the men who attacked you." Mento cut in gruffly. "Beast Boy, explain your understanding of the events that led to your incapacitation." He ordered.

"Sir!" With a sharp nod, Gar pried himself from Starfire's arms, so he could stand at attention. He wobbled at first, and then retained his balance. "We arrived at the scene of a bank robbery at approximately thirteen hundred hours. Law enforcement already in the vicinity had secured the perimeter, and the surrounding area, and provided us with the assumed number of suspects and hostages inside the building. As the incident was still in progress, time was of the essence, and we opted to enact a plan without confirming the intel. We have worked with the local police numerous times in a similar fashion, and we had no reason to doubt it. Our initial plan was successful, and we were able to evacuate all the hostages."

"Assessment?"

"Too easy. The hostages were gathered together too neatly, the supposed bank robbers ill-equipped and unprepared. I also detected a strange smell, but could not place it immediately. I suspected an ambush. Before I could voice my suspicions however, we were already under attack from the real threat." From the corner of his eye, Gar saw Robin's eyes widen through his mask as he caught on. "Their plan was to separate us, starting with the obvious critical targets. Cyborg was attacked first, followed immediately by Starfire, who was momentarily incapacitated by a second assailant. Robin attempted to engage the second man, but was rebuffed and sustained an injury. I was the only one to spot the third man, and I moved to intercept. My instinct told me he was the true threat. However, I don't believe they were counting on Starfire's toughness or the ferocity of her counterattack. They wanted us distracted and separated to pick us off one by one, but their plan fell apart when their gauntlet man was taken down, and their leader failed to take out Raven. At least, I inferred as much from the gunman in our brief exchange."

Steve crossed his arms. "Leads?"

"Very little, but there is something I do want to check." Gar said, before taking a step to the side. Still weak, his legs gave momentarily. Rita and Larry were by his side in an instant, helping him stay upright, and he nodded his thanks. "The bullet fragments, Robotman. On the counter in the infirmary."

Cliff nodded, leaving the room, and returning shortly after with the misshapen lumps of metal in a surgical tray. He picked one up and examined it for a second, before depositing it in a compartment in his arm. Almost immediately, his expression changed from one of curiosity to shock.

"Well that's a surprise." He remarked.

Gar blinked. Some part of him had hoped he wouldn't be right. "Are you sure?"

"Yep. This is fine grade stuff too. Not exactly cheap. You must have made someone _really_ mad."

"Damn." Gar scowled, the uncharacteristic expression seeming alien on his face. " _Damn_."

Steve cleared his throat, obviously irritated. "What is it?"

"The bullet is 94% pure nullium." Cliff said.

There was a heavy pause as everyone in the room absorbed the information. Gar watched his friends, but the only one who showed any sign of recognition was, of course, the boy wonder himself.

"I do not understand." Starfire said, rubbing her eyes and regaining some composure. "The ammunition for such weapons is typically made from lead, yes?"

Sitting back against the couch, Gar crossed his arms. "Yeah. It would be. Unless you were hunting something else."

"I don't get it." Jinx spoke up. "What's so important about this null whatever?"

" _Nullium_." Gar corrected. "It's an extremely rare metal that completely negates the supernatural."

He paused, his gaze drifting to the one person in the room he'd avoided looking directly at the entire time. At least until he was sure his control wouldn't slip.

Raven. The last person in the world he wanted to hurt.

 _She looks… Paler than normal._

For a brief moment, there was an ache in his chest from seeing her so humanly delicate. All the fury and fire from before was gone. Her hood was down, and she looked completely unguarded, her emotions almost plain on her face. In her wide, bewildered eyes. No doubt she was feeling overwhelmed by everything that was going on, just as lost as all the other Titans. He wanted to tell her he was sorry. That he would never make her, or the others ever go through this again.

Gar blinked, and smothered the aching.

"It was made specifically to kill Raven." Steve concluded.

"Undoubtedly." He replied, shifting his gaze back to the older man. "She is, by far and away, our strongest and most versatile member. It would be my first move."

"This attack was planned, then." Larry said, thinking aloud. "Well-funded, intelligent. A contract hit."

"Which means they won't give up after one try." Rita interjected. "If they're willing to spend the kind of money it takes to make a bullet out of _nullium_ , then this won't be the last we see of them."

"Agreed." Cliff grunted. "Plan?"

"We shall stay in the city for the next few days, see what we can dig up." Steve said. "I also would like to keep an eye on you, Beast Boy. Until we are certain you have fully recovered."

"I understand. We have a few guestrooms on the floor below us that should be sufficient accommodations for you." Gar replied with a nod.

There was a loud bang as Robin slammed his fist against the wall he was standing next to. "You break into our home, go through our things, inject something weird into our supposedly dead teammate, lead us on a chase through our own halls, then act like we're not even here while carrying on in your own conversation…" He growled. " _And you expect us to let you STAY here?!_ "

Mento turned, and made as if he was going to respond, but Gar beat him to the punch, stepping forward and holding up one hand to forestall the older man.

"Robin." The changeling said solemnly. "I know that this is a lot to process, and I know that you have no reason to trust them, but this is my family. They aren't going to hurt anyone."

"And how are we supposed to trust _you_!?" The Titan leader shot back. "You've been lying to us from the very beginning!"

In the back of his mind, this had been one of Gar's biggest fears and worries. If, or rather _when_ , they found out, could the Titans bring themselves to forgive him, and put their trust in him? After years, and months of deception?

"Because you're my family too." Gar replied earnestly.

The two young heroes locked eyes, staring at one another. Despite the mask, Gar could see the outrage, anger, and hurt in his friend. And he hated himself for being the cause of that hurt, in any of them. He wished that he could say something, anything, but… words escaped him. A hand came to rest on Robin's shoulder, and the masked hero turned his head sharply. He found Starfire at his side, her face tired and her eyes sad.

"Perhaps…" She said quietly. "Perhaps it is best we get some rest. Today has been exhausting, in more ways than one."

"Starfire, I can't just –"

Robin's mouth snapped shut when he saw the pleading look in her eyes.

"Please? It… It is Beast Boy after all…"

His fists were clenched so tightly that his hands shook, but Robin didn't say anything. Throwing one last glare at Gar, he stalked out of the room, followed shortly by Starfire, then Cyborg and Jinx. Finally, it was just Raven. She hadn't moved, not since she calmed down, and she stood stock still. Her face showed shock, and confusion. Her eyes watched him in a daze. Was she waiting for something? For what? Gar had no idea. He took a step forward.

"Raven, I –"

She jumped, obviously startled, took a few stumbling steps backwards, then sank through the ground. He withdrew his hand, letting it fall to his side. The look she'd given him, like she didn't even recognize him… He almost wished that he had stayed dead.

.

.

The Titans, minus two, gathered in Cyborg's room, huddled together as they waited for their call to connect. They whispered with each other, all of them feeling awkward, but none more so than Robin. Considering who they were calling, it wasn't really a surprise. The call connected with a beep, and the room fell silent. A figure with a dark cowl appeared on the screen.

"Robin…" The dark knight said evenly.

"Batman..." Robin returned stiffly. "… It's been some time."

"It certainly has…"

A long silence drew out between them.

Jinx huffed an irritated sigh. "Jesus Christ, do we have to do this right now? Right _now_?"

Robin leveled a withering glare at her, cleared his throat and turned back to proceed.

"Batman, I'm contacting you to inquire about a group called 'The Doom Patrol'?"

It may not have been obvious to the others, but Robin saw the caped crusader go completely still when he heard the words Doom Patrol. Batman did not fidget.

"Do you have any information on them?" He asked carefully, trying to read the older man's expression.

"Am I correct in assuming this has something to do with your… Recent loss?"

"Yes, but there are extenuating circumstances. Our youngest member, Beast Boy, seems to have been a part of this group at some point."

Again, Batman had a strange reaction, taking on a serious expression as he seemed to think. "That's… surprising, to say the least. He's the youngest in your group, you said?"

"That's correct." Robin nodded. "Why is it surprising that he would be a part of them?"

"Because they are ruthless assassins." Batman stated plainly.

The room fell silent, like all the air had suddenly vanished.

"That would make Beast Boy a, a…" Starfire began after a moment, but trailed off, unable to voice the thought.

"B-but, that's –" Cyborg sputtered. "That's ridiculous! This is BB we're talking about, we _know_ him! He's not a killer! He doesn't even eat meat!" He practically yelled, looking around at the others for support.

Jinx nodded fervently in agreement. "It's true, Beast Boy wouldn't even hurt a fly if he could help it."

"But we _don't_ know him." Robin said quietly, looking down as he leaned on the console. "Do we? Even after all this time, we don't even know his first name. Let alone what he did before meeting us."

Not for the first time, they all realized how very little they knew of their friend, and wondered what exactly that meant about him, and about them. In the solemn quiet, Robin turned back to the screen.

"Batman, can you elaborate on what the exact purpose of this Doom Patrol is?" He asked.

"I can. They are a group of rogues. A team of people with unique powers and abilities, with no affiliation, and one single goal in mind. Destroy evil, by any means necessary." Batman replied. "Their leader, Mento, is almost fanatical in his pursuit of that goal. They are highly secretive, as well as extremely capable. They've orchestrated coups, collapsed governments, manipulated, sabotaged, and killed on all seven continents." Windows of information and various images popped up on the screen next to him as he continued explaining. "They tend to stay away from the more obvious targets, like the villains you or the Justice League handle, instead going after the more obscure enemies. Although, I have made a few tenuous connections that might link them to a number of deceased mass murderers, corrupt political figures, and the like. In any case, they are _very_ deadly. I would advise you to stay away from them."

 _Too late._

"Duly noted." Robin responded. "Thanks."

"Robin… I know how hard it is to lose someone, especially someone under your leadership." Batman said, pausing as if to search for the right words. "I'm sorry about the death of your friend."

Under normal circumstances, Robin might've been more heavily affected by his words. Bruce was not a soft man, prone to waxing sentimental. No, he believed in a strict regimen, self-discipline, and iron will. But he had his rare, genuine moments where you could see warmth, empathy, and even love. This was perhaps one of those few moments, and Robin might've said something to reflect that honesty back.

But these weren't normal circumstances.

"Don't be." The former apprentice said briskly. "He got over it." Then he ended the call.

The room plunged into silence, a dead quiet where no one moved, or even dared to look at each other. They were all shellshocked, their understanding of the world, each other, and especially Beast Boy shaken.

Cyborg eventually sighed in the aggravation, breaking the spell that had the four of them frozen in place. Dragging his hand across his face, he only had one word to say.

"Fuck."

.

.

Nevermore shook, the islands themselves in disarray as a direct reflection of Raven's state of mind. It took longer than normal to find the center, and when she did, what she found there was nothing short of disturbing. Her aspects, the parts of herself that represented her emotions, had returned, but they were far from normal. Some of them, like Timid and Happy, were at the very edge of the extreme, practically radiating their corresponding emotions. Others, like Brave and Rage, were unnaturally subdued, almost translucent compared to the others. And as with the last few times she visited, the black cloaked emotion stood waiting for her.

"What is happening?" Raven asked, distressed at the situation around her.

"No idea." Her twin said lazily.

"You have to know something! You're the only one acting normal!" Raven yelled, gesturing to the chaos surrounding them.

The emotion looked at her with a bland expression. "Listen. You were in mourning because someone extremely important to you had died. Then, by some strange turn of events, he came back to life. I _imagine_ that's hard to process."

"No kidding." Raven gritted her teeth. "How do we _fix_ it?"

"Meditation?" Depression suggested. "You, _we_ , need time. You were spiraling way, way down, and now we've done an about-face. That's good, I think, but abrupt changes like that in the psyche aren't always… smooth. It'll take a lot to process everything."

"That's it? Just wait it out?" She sputtered, voice straining. "There is no time for that! At this rate my safeguards are going to rupture and I'm going to level the entire island!"

It was true. The moment Raven had returned to her room, a door inside her had opened, and violent cascades of power had surged from within. In all but a few minutes, everything in her room had been reduced to pieces, the walls, ceiling, and floor only barely maintaining their integrity due to the magical seal she had woven into every square inch of space. However, she knew the seal could not stand up in the face of her power indefinitely. She needed a solution, _now_.

Her darker reflection looked her up and down appraisingly. "You have to think about it, process it. All of it. There's no way around that." One pale hand slipped inside her cloak of depthless shadow as she stared at Raven with dead, black eyes. "But I might have something that will soothe you temporarily."

Depression withdrew from her cloak a book. A photo album, roughly nine inches tall, fourteen inches wide, and three inches thick. It's velvet cover was the color of lush, healthy grass, and there was an animal lightly embossed in each corner. Stuck in between the pages for a book marker was a ribbon of blue silk, with a single, pristine penny attached at its end. For some reason, Raven's heart skipped as she looked upon it.

"What is that?" The empath hesitated, one of her hands raising, but not quite reaching for it.

"This…" The emotion replied. "Is a book of some of our fondest memories."

.

.

"You like that Raven girl."

The statement, because it was a statement of fact rather than a question, caught Gar offguard, making him misplace his foot. The immediate result was him taking the full force of Mento's fist to his gut, a natural consequence for his lapse in focus.

" _Concentrate_ , Garfield." His adoptive father reprimanded. "You've let your skills deteriorate to an appalling degree."

Gar sprang up from the mat and back into a ready stance, wary to keep his guard up. Mento didn't pull his punches when he was standing, and he sure as hell wouldn't do it while he was on the ground.

He really hadn't missed morning practice with the Doom Patrol.

"You didn't answer me." Rita said from where she stood outside the sparring area. Behind her, Larry sat with the folders containing Gar's detailed profiles on each Titan, and Cliff was using a bench press to exercise.

"You didn't really ask a question." The changeling shot back, dropping down to dodge another attack, and used the opportunity to aim a kick at Mento's front leg.

"Fine then. _Do_ you like that Raven girl?"

"I don't see how it matters."

"It matters to _me_ because I am _your mother_."

For a full minute and, Gar didn't respond. However, for the entirety of that time, he felt her gaze on the back of his neck as he faced off against his sparring partner, like two screws being slowly twisted into his spine. Finally, he sighed.

"I may have a… _slight_ attraction towards her." He reluctantly admitted, catching Mento's leg and using the momentum of his kick to bring them both down to the mat. They grappled for a few intense seconds before Mento was able to slip out of the nearly complete arm bar Gar had attempted.

"Yes, that much is obvious from your file on her." Rita said, paging through said document.

Scrabbling up from the ground, Gar frowned. "Is there a point to this?"

"She's a demon."

Gar shot a glance at the older woman, eyes narrowed. " _Half_ -demon. So?"

"So." She gave him a meaningful look. "You know what they're like."

The muscles in his jaw tightened, and he scowled. "I know what _a lot_ of things are like. I also know that not everything is as it seems or as its expected." He said through clenched teeth, deflecting a jab as he delivered a low kick to Mento's leg.

Rita smiled knowingly. "Oh relax. I'm just making sure you know what you're getting into. She has a legacy after all."

"I'm not ' _getting into'_ anything." Gar said. "She's already involved with other people."

"So you've noted." Rita observed, looking back down at the documents in her hands. "And how does that affect you?"

A fist smashed into the changeling's side, punctuating the question. He backed away for a second, but maintained his stance and guard.

"It's fine. She's made her choice, and I'll just have to live with that. Besides…" Gar shrugged, schooling his face to a neutral expression. "People like us, like _me_ … don't deserve those things."

Before his mother could respond to that, the door slid open and the other Titans walked in. Both Mento and Gar relaxed their stances and stopped their match, waiting for the young heroes to approach. It was hard to read all of their expressions, but Gar did see that Robin and Cyborg were both still upset. He gave the group a small wave, but none of them returned the gesture. They just stared at him.

"Good morning, um," Gar scratched the back of his neck. "How did you all sleep?"

"Interrogation room." Robin ordered with a harsh bite to his tone. " _Now_."

.

.

So sorry this took so long to get out, but I'm diverging from the original story a bit. Bear with me here. This chapter was a particular challenge, because in the OG version everyone kind of shrugs off his resurrection like it's no big deal, and they try and go back to business as usual. Obviously, this would not be the case. There is a lot to process with death, especially violent, early deaths that happen to loved ones. And I'm willing to bet there's a whole lot more baggage to unload when they miraculously return to life. I'm kind of winging it, as I do with everything, but this is my paltry attempt at exploring those emotions, and how they would affect the team. Perhaps, hopefully, it's believable? Let me know.


End file.
